Investigation of Entropy Noise in Aero-Engine Combustors

Strong evidence is presented that entropy noise is the major source of external noise in aero-engine combustion. Entropy noise is generated in the outlet nozzles of combustors. Low frequency entropy noise — which was predicted earlier in theory and numerical simulations — was successfully detected in a generic aero-engine combustion chamber. It is shown that entropy noise dominates even in the case of thermo-acoustic resonances. In addition to this, a different noise generating mechanism was discovered that is presumably of even higher relevance to jet engines: There is strong evidence of broad band entropy noise at higher frequencies (1 kHz to 3 kHz in the reported tests). This unexpected effect can be explained by the interaction of small scale entropy perturbations (hot spots) with the strong pressure gradient in the outlet nozzle. The direct combustion noise of the flame zone seems to be of minor importance for the noise emission to the ambiance. The combustion experiments were supplemented by experiments with electrical heating. Two different methods for generating entropy waves were used, a pulse excitation and a sinusoidal excitation. In addition, high-frequency entropy noise was generated by steady electrical heating.