Improving Acoustic Measurements with Cavities in Closed Test Section Wind Tunnels

<br/>Aerodynamic noise produced by aircraft, wind turbines, and other objects subjected to airflow contribute to environmental noise pollution, which adversely affects human and animal health. Consequently, governments impose restrictions on aircraft and wind turbine noise levels. These restrictions can have an economic impact by limiting...

Simulating the acoustic response of cavities to improve microphone array measurements in closed test section wind tunnels

Cavities placed along wind tunnel walls can attenuate the turbulent boundary layer (TBL) fluctuations as they propagate into the cavity. Placing microphones within the cavities can thus improve the signal-to-noise ratio of acoustic data. However, standing waves form within these cavities distorting the acoustic measurements. This work uses a...

Evaluation of advanced acoustic imaging methods for microphone-array measurements in closed-section wind tunnels

Aeroacoustic measurements with microphones in closed-section wind tunnels are typically hampered by the pressure fluctuations of the turbulent boundary layer (TBL) on the tunnel's walls, ceiling, or floor, where phased microphone arrays are usually mounted. This paper evaluates the performance of several advanced acoustic imaging methods that...

Lattice Boltzmann very large eddy simulations of a turbulent flow over covered and uncovered cavities

Microphone measurements in a closed test section wind tunnel are affected by turbulent boundary layer (TBL) pressure fluctuations. These fluctuations are mitigated by placing the microphones at the bottom of cavities, usually covered with a thin, acoustically transparent material. Prior experiments showed that the cavity geometry affects the...

Evaluation of the effect of microphone cavity geometries on acoustic imaging in wind tunnels

Aeroacoustic measurements performed by flush-mounted microphone arrays on the walls of closed-section wind tunnels are contaminated by the hydrodynamic pressure fluctuations of the wall's boundary layer. This study evaluates three different microphone cavity geometries for mitigating this issue. Their improvement to the signal-to-noise ratio ...

Comparison of cavity geometries for a microphone array in an open-jet wind-tunnel experiment

This paper analyses the influence of microphone cavity geometry on beamforming measurements with a turbulent boundary layer present on the microphone array. A 16- microphone array was tested in the anechoic open-jet wind tunnel of the Delft University of Technology. The array was placed on a flat plate mounted flush with the exit nozzle of the...

Experimental design and stochastic modeling of hydrodynamic wave propagation within cavities for wind tunnel acoustic measurements

This study investigates how embedding microphones in different cavity geometries along the wall of a wind tunnel reduces the measured turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations. The effect of these cavities on the measured signal-to-noise ratio of an acoustic source with flow present was also quantified. Twelve cavity geometries defined...

Design and Evaluation of Microphone Cavity Geometries for Wind-Tunnel Acoustic Measurements

This study investigated how embedding microphones in different cavity geometries reduce the measured turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations at the microphones. The cavity geometries were systematically varied using a design of experiments (DOE) methodology. This approach tested different cavity depths, diameters, chamfers, and opening...

Deterministic Model of AcousticWave Propagation in a Cavity

A mathematical model is proposed that evaluates acoustic propagation of turbulent boundary layer waves on top of a cavity enclosing a microphone. The goal is to optimize these cavity geometries to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of acoustic measurements. This model predicts the attenuation of the turbulent boundary layer fluctuations...