Engineering topics

Lennart S. Hultgren

Publications and source records attributed to Lennart S. Hultgren.

8 records

NASA NTRS2024

Core/Combustor-Noise Measurements and Source Separation for the DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan

Acoustic data obtained using a small turbofan engine are further analyzed with the aim to ultimately enable improved prediction methods and mitigation techniques for turbofan core/combustor noise. The relative impact of this propulsion-noise source for civilian-transport aircraft on airport community noise is expected to significantly increase in the future. Simultaneous high-data-rate acoustic measurements acquired using a circumferential infinite-tube-probe array at the core-nozzle exit in conjunction with a far-field microphone array are processed. The test matrix contains engine operational points from idle to engine-maximum setting, with measurements repeated for different circumferential array configurations, as well as for redundancy. The combustor-noise contribution to the far-field noise signature is obtained using an advanced source-separation method that correlates far-field microphone measurements with a modal decomposition of the unsteady pressure field at the core-nozzle exit. The advantages of the present approach compared to the classical two-signal source-separation method are discussed.

Aeroacoustics↗

NASA NTRS2022

An Interim Assessment of High-Power-Density-Core Noise Levels

The aeroacoustic-noise implications associated with the small-core gas-turbine development effort underway in the NASA HyTEC Project are discussed. Due to the expected design choices, there are risks that the airport community noise, associated with landing and takeoff of civilian-transport aircraft, could be increased or, at minimum, that further overall propulsion-noise reduction could become limited. It is argued here that the main culprit in these scenarios is noise originating from sources in the combustor. The classical combustor-noise prediction model is summarized and its possible extension to the planned parameter space is discussed. An acoustic-power scaling law is derived and utilized to give initial estimates for what can be expected by core-design choices. An ideal-cycle parametric turbofan model provides input for these estimates.

aeroacoustics, turbomachinery noise, small-core no↗

NASA NTRS2022

Impact of Future Low-Emissions Combustor Technology on Acoustic Scaling Laws

The overall goal of a recent research project at the Raytheon Technologies Research Center, under National Aeronautics and Space Administration sponsorship, was to develop a first-ofits-kind database of detailed unsteady measurements characterizing noise sources of far-term advanced low-emissions aero-combustors. The program addressed the need for fundamental combustion-noise experiments which, in the near term, enable improvements to reduced-order models for use in system level noise assessments at the preliminary design stage for advanced air transport vehicles. In addition, optical measurement techniques were refined and validated for usage at the higher pressures and temperatures relevant to future combustor designs. In the long term, results from this program can be utilized to validate high-fidelity prediction methods suited for detailed multi-disciplinary acoustics/emissions combustor design. This paper concentrates on one aspect of the overall project, namely an examination of the legacy scaling laws for broadband combustor noise.

aeroacoustics, turbomachinery noise, combustor noi↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Subsonic-Transport Core/Combustor Noise

The presentation is an overview of the propulsion-noise contributions from sources associated with the combustor for subsonic-transport aircraft. Sections of the talk cover: the impact of future compact high-efficiency core design trends on airport-community noise, the physical source mechanisms responsible for direct and indirect combustor noise, and combustor-noise prediction and measurement. The noise issues discussed are important to future gas-turbine propulsors, to envisioned hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion systems, and represent key challenges in the strategy to develop novel propulsion systems for ultra-efficient transport aircraft. The Advanced Air Transport Technology Project supports this effort.

Aeroacoustics, Combustor Noise, Turbomachinery Noi↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Learjet Acoustics Flight Test – An Initial Look

The motivation for the work is the need for an improved ability to predict takeoff noise of future commercial supersonic aircraft. The overall objective is to validate as well as improve the conversion of facility scale-model data and semi-empirical jet-noise predictions to flight noise. As a first step, the processing of data and results from an acoustics flight test are described. The next step involves the comparison of the flight acoustic data and complementary rig-test results. This will be presented in future reports. Ultimately, the goal is improved noise-prediction methods for system studies of future commercial supersonic aircraft.

aeroacoustics, jet noise, flyover noise↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Jet Noise Flyover and Scale Model Tests

Renewed interest in commercial supersonic flight has rekindled the need for accurate jet-noise predictions as this source is believed to dominate at aircraft takeoff conditions. The current study compares scale-model data acquired in the NASA Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory with data obtained using a well-instrumented Learjet 25 in a flyover test completed in September 2022. The flight test included 73 flyovers with engine conditions ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 engine pressure ratios and flight Mach numbers between 0.24 and 0.27. Acoustic data were acquired with an 800-ft linear ground plate microphone array. Wind speed data were acquired up to 1000-ft altitude with a ground-based LiDAR system. Layered ambient temperature, pressure, and humidity were acquired with a weather drone. A 6% increase in the physical scale factor for the scale-model data was found to reasonably align the peak frequencies of the scale-model and flight data and resulted in peak levels for the scale model being roughly 0.7 dB above those for the flight data at NPR = 1.56 and roughly 1 dB below those for the flight data at NPR = 1.91 in the peak jet-noise direction. Comparisons with the SAE ARP876 model were poor especially at emission angles greater than, or equal to, 110° and at high frequencies.

Acoustics, jet noise, supersonic transport↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of SiC Pressure Sensors in Turbofan Engine Core Exhaust Nozzle

We report the results of the evaluation of single crystal 4H-silicon carbide piezoresistive pressure sensors that were directly inserted at the compressor and core exhaust nozzle exits, in shear contact with the engine-internal flow streams of the NASA DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan, where the operating temperatures at maximum power were ~230°C, and ~460°C, respectively. In addition to demonstrating sensor survivability during this maiden test, the frequency responses of the silicon-carbide sensors at the core-nozzle exit were compared against industry-standard silicon-based piezoresistive pressure transducers that externally placed, using an infinite-tube-probe arrangement. The low-voltage output of these early-development SiC sensors limited the frequency range with an acceptable signal-to-noise-ratio for the current application to less than about 2,500 Hz. The low output of the SiC sensors were due to a conservative burst-pressure diaphragm design that can be optimized to increase the frequency range. The results from this initial campaign offered insights to aspects of the sensor that would require further improvement, with the goal of achieving full-bandwidth capture of engine unsteady pressure fluctuations by direct interrogation of the flow field in hostile-environment engine-core components.

Silicon Carbide↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Learjet 25D Jet Noise Flyover Measurements: Comparisons with Scale-Model Data

Continued interest in commercial supersonic flight has highlighted the need for accurate jet-noise predictions as jet noise is expected to be a dominant noise source for aircraft takeoff conditions. The current study compares the acoustic spectra obtained from a scale-model investigation to that from a Learjet 25D flyover test. Reasonable agreement was achieved between the scale-model and flight data in both peak level and frequency when the physical scale factor for the scale-model was increased by roughly 6%. The peak perceived noise levels (PNL) for the flight data were between 1.29 dB and 1.65 dB higher than those for the scale model. The roll-off of PNL with time for large emission angles was greater for the flight data than for the scale-model data. Using a distributed source model for shear-layer-refraction corrections to the scale-model data slightly improved comparisons to flight data at low frequencies for emission angles near 70° and between 110° and 130°. Distributed source models had no impact on the scale-model spectra near the peak jet-noise angle. Applying a stretching factor to the distributed source models to capture the effects of a flight stream had a very limited impact on the computed spectra.

Acoustics↗