Aeroacoustic Analysis of the Tonal Noise of a Large-Scale Radial Blower

Abstract

Large-scale radial blowers are widely used in factories and are one of the main sources of noise. The present study aims at identifying the noise generation mechanisms in such a radial blower in order to suggest simple modifications that could be made in order to reduce the noise. The flow in a representative large-scale radial blower is investigated thanks to unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) numerical simulations. The radiated noise is calculated, thanks to an in-house propagation code based on the Ffowcs Williams Hawkings' (FWH) analogy, SherFWH. The results highlight the main noise generation mechanisms, in particular the interaction between the rotating blades and the tongue, and the interaction between the rotating blades and the trapdoors located on the volute sidewall. Some modifications of the geometry are suggested.