Computational fluid dynamcs

This dissertation will consider the sound radiation from forward-facing steps and a three dimensional cylindrical embossment of very low aspect ratio mounted on a plate. Glegg et al (2014) outlined a theory for predicting the sound radiation from separated flows and applied the method to predicting the sound from forward-facing steps. In order to validate this theory it has been applied to the results of Catlett et al (2014) and Ji and Wang (2010). This validation study revealed that the original theory could be adjusted to include a mixed scaling which gives a better prediction. RANS simulations have been performed and used to support the similarities between the forward-facing step and the cylindrical embossment. The simulations revealed that the cylindrical embossment exhibits a separation zone similar to that of the forward-facing step. This separation zone has been shown to be the dominant source of noise on the forward-facing step in previous works and therefore was expected to be the major source of sound from the cylindrical embossment. The sensitivity of this separation zone to the different parameters of the flow has been investigated by performing several simulations with different conditions and geometries. The separation zone was seen to be independent of Reynolds number based on boundary layer thickness but was directly dependent on the height of the cylinder. The theory outlined in Glegg et al (2014) was then reformulated for use with a cylindrical embossment and the predictions have been compared with wind tunnel measurements. The final predictions show good agreement with the wind tunnel measurements and the far-field sound shows a clearly defined directionality that is similar to an axial dipole at low frequencies.

Ji and Wang (2010) propose that the dominant source of sound from a forward facing step is the stream wise dipole on the face of the step and that sources acting normal to the flow are negligible. Sound radiation normal to flow of forward facing steps has been measured in wind tunnel experiments previously by Farabee and Casarella (1986, 1991) and Catlett (2010). A method for evaluating sound radiation from surface roughness proposed in Glegg and Devenport (2009) has been adapted and applied to flow over a forward facing step which addresses the sound normal to the flow that was previously unaccounted for. Far-field radiation predictions based on this method have been compared with wind tunnel measurements and show good agreement. A second method which evaluates the forcing from a vortex convected past surface roughness using RANS calculations and potential flow information is also evaluated.