Flow and Noise Investigations of a Separate Flow Exhaust System

A major component of aircraft noise is the jet noise created by the high velocity hot stream exhausting from a jet engine, interacting with itself and with the surrounding cold air. In the present paper the flow and acoustic fields that are generated by two coaxial jets are considered. Numerically, the problem is divided into a flow related part (Navier-Stokes system of equation) and an acoustic part (an inhomogeneous wave equation). The flow field is handled by well resolved Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The acoustical sources can then be computed from the flow field calculations, on the near-field “source” grid. The acoustic field is solved, on the same or even on a larger separate grid, by using an acoustic approximation with appropriate acoustic boundary conditions. The computed flow and acoustical fields are compared to those measured on the separate flow nozzle test facility. The comparisons in terms of velocity and sound pressure levels are shown to validate the used approach. Frequency spectra of the acoustic density fluctuation are presented in order to indicate the locations where the high- or low- frequency noise dominates. The numerical study is focused as well on the Reynolds number effects on the flow and acoustics.