Near and Far-Field Investigations of Supersonic Jet Noise Predictions Using a Coupled LES and FW-H Equation Method

Abstract

The hot supersonic exhausts of gas turbine engines on military aircraft generate dangerously high noise levels. The noise levels associated with operating these engines are harmful to aircraft carrier deck personnel as well as detrimental to ship and aircraft structures. In this paper, the supersonic jet exhaust is simulated using Large Eddy Simulation (LES), and the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation transforms the LES solution to an acoustic solution in the far-field. A Mach 1.5 laboratory jet test at United Technologies Research Center - Acoustics Research Tunnel is used as validation for the LES/FW-H method. A grid refinement study was performed with the objective of determining the requirements for accurate noise predictions. The finest grid resolution yields the best near and far-field acoustic prediction. A second LES/FW-H validation case is shown for a twin jet experiment that was performed in the anechoic chamber at University of Mississippi’s National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA). The LES/FW-H method is applied to the higher complexity heated twin jet with faceted nozzle profiles, demonstrating the applicability of the method over a wider range of flow regimes. The far-field noise prediction agrees very well with the NCPA experiment, including the prediction of broadband shock associated noise and jet screech.