On the Far-Field Propagation of High-Speed Jet Noise

This paper deals with the effects of atmospheric absorption on the propagation of high-speed jet noise. The common practice for determining the far-field jet noise spectra at a distance far from the jet exit (>100D, where D is the nozzle exit diameter) involves extrapolating data that is typically obtained between 35D and 100D from the nozzle exit. The data is extrapolated along a radial line from the nozzle exit by accounting for the effects of spherical spreading and atmospheric absorption. A previous paper discussed far-field measurements that were obtained for a twin engine aircraft at three locations along a radial line in the peak noise radiation direction. The authors were unable to extrapolate the spectra from the nearest location to either of the further locations and the observed differences were attributed to nonlinear effects in the jet noise signal. It is the purpose of this paper to show that the common extrapolation practice is valid for high speed jets, except in the peak radiation direction and its surrounding angles. Mach wave radiation is present at these locations and the common practice will yield unsatisfactory results, similar to those observed in the previous paper. The data used in this paper is taken from experiments carried out at 1/5th-scale and full scale and the experimental conditions of these high-speed jets are quite similar to those of the previous paper.