Impact of coherence decay on wavepacket models for broadband shock-associated noise in supersonic jets

Abstract

Motivated by the success of wavepackets in modelling the noise from subsonic and perfectly expanded supersonic jets, we apply the wavepacket model to imperfectly expanded supersonic jets. Recent studies with subsonic jets have demonstrated the importance of capturing the ‘jitter’ of wavepackets in order to correctly predict the intensity of far-field sound. Wavepacket jitter may be statistically represented using a two-point coherence function; accurate prediction of noise requires identification of this coherence function. Following the analysis of Cavalieri & Agarwal (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 748, 2014. pp. 399–415), we extend their methodology to model the acoustic sources of broadband shock-associated noise in imperfectly expanded supersonic jets using cross-spectral densities of the turbulent and shock-cell quantities. The aim is to determine the relationship between wavepacket coherence-decay and far-field broadband shock-associated noise, using the model as a vehicle to explore the flow mechanisms at work. Unlike the subsonic case where inclusion of coherence decay amplifies the sound pressure level over the whole acoustic spectrum, we find that it does not play such a critical role in determining the peak sound amplitude for shock-cell noise. When higher-order shock-cell modes are used to reconstruct the acoustic spectrum at higher frequencies, however, the inclusion of a jittering wavepacket is necessary. These results suggest that the requirement for coherence decay identified in prior broadband shock-associated noise (BBSAN) models is in reality the statistical signature of jittering wavepackets. The results from this modelling approach suggest that nonlinear jittering effects of wavepackets need to be included in dynamic models for broadband shock-associated noise.