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At least 271 records · Page 15

Duct wall impedance control as an advanced concept for acoustic impression

Models and tests on an acoustic duct liner system which has the property of controlled-variable acoustic impedance are described. This is achieved by a novel concept which uses the effect of steady air flow through a multi-layer, locally reacting, resonant-cavity absorber. The scope of this work was limited to a 'proof of concept.' The test of the concept was implemented by means of a small-scale, square-section flow duct facility designed specifically for acoustic measurements, with one side of the duct acoustically lined. The test liners were designed with the aid of previously established duct acoustic theory and a semi-empirical impedance model of the liner system. Over the limited range tested, the liner behaved primarily as predicted, exhibiting significant changes in resistance and reactance, thus providing the necessary concept validation.

Dean, P. D.↗

Experimental Validation of Numerical Simulations for an Acoustic Liner in Grazing Flow

A coordinated experimental and numerical simulation effort is carried out to improve our understanding of the physics of acoustic liners in a grazing flow as well our computational aeroacoustics (CAA) method prediction capability. A numerical simulation code based on advanced CAA methods is developed. In a parallel effort, experiments are performed using the Grazing Flow Impedance Tube at the NASA Langley Research Center. In the experiment, a liner is installed in the upper wall of a rectangular flow duct with a 2 inch by 2.5 inch cross section. Spatial distribution of sound pressure levels and relative phases are measured on the wall opposite the liner in the presence of a Mach 0.3 grazing flow. The computer code is validated by comparing computed results with experimental measurements. Good agreements are found. The numerical simulation code is then used to investigate the physical properties of the acoustic liner. It is shown that an acoustic liner can produce self-noise in the presence of a grazing flow and that a feedback acoustic resonance mechanism is responsible for the generation of this liner self-noise. In addition, the same mechanism also creates additional liner drag. An estimate, based on numerical simulation data, indicates that for a resonant liner with a 10% open area ratio, the drag increase would be about 4% of the turbulent boundary layer drag over a flat wall.

Tam, Christopher K. W.↗

Measurement of the thermal effects in the dispersion relation of the dust acoustic wave in the presence of a magnetic field

This award supported an experimental study of the properties of the dust acoustic wave, low-frequency, l ongitudinal wave mode that propagates through the dust component of a dusty plasma system and is self-excited by the free energy from the ion streaming p ast the dust, in the presence of a high magnetic fiel d. In particular, this project measured the thermal state of dusty plasma system by measuring the dispersi on relation of the dust acoustic wave while varying (1) the strength and direction of the magnetic field relative to the propagation direction of the wave and (2) the neutral gas pressure. By exploiting the unique ability of the MDPX facility to generate a dusty plasma in a high magnetic field environment, it is possible to create a preferential ion flow along the magnetic field lines as the ions become magnetized. In this way, the magnetic field strength can be used to control t he strength of the ion flow through the dust cloud an d provide insight into the contribution that one of the physical mechanisms, a two-stream ion-dust instability, thought to be responsible for high temperatures that have been previously observed might have. This work was completed over two, one-week long runs o n the Magnetized Dusty Plasma eXperiment (MDPX) in the Magnetized Plasma Research Laboratory at Auburn University and supported by work at Wittenberg University (development of an electrode system that would allow for the wave mode to propagate in th e direction of gravity as the orientation of the magnetic field is changed by rotating the magnets on the M DPX device, analysis of data acquired during the experimental campaigns, testing alternative strategies to form a dust cloud based on what was learned the first experimental campaign, etc.).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Noncontact excitation of multi-GHz lithium niobate electromechanical resonators

Abstract The demand for high-performance electromechanical resonators is ever-growing across diverse applications, ranging from sensing and time-keeping to advanced communication devices. Among the electromechanical materials being explored, thin-film lithium niobate stands out due to its strong piezoelectric properties and low acoustic loss. However, in nearly all existing lithium niobate electromechanical devices, the configuration is such that the electrodes are in direct contact with the mechanical resonator. This configuration introduces an undesirable mass-loading effect, producing spurious modes and additional damping. Here, we present an electromechanical platform that mitigates this challenge by leveraging a flip-chip bonding technique to separate the electrodes from the mechanical resonator. By offloading the electrodes from the resonator, our approach yields a substantial increase in the quality factor of these resonators, paving the way for enhanced performance and reliability for their device applications.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗

Far field effects of weak spatially periodic inhomogeneities.

Small variations in the properties of an acoustic medium produce cumulative effects that significantly alter wave forms propagating over long distances. To investigate some aspects of these effects, without statistical models, the one-dimensional wave equation with a weak spatially periodic variation in the sound speed is treated. An approximation is developed valid for such weak inhomogeneities over large distances based upon the approximate treatment of a linear differential equation with a periodic coefficient. It is applied to the propagation of an initial step wave and identifies the dispersive nature of the medium which accounts for the cumulative effects.

Friedman, M. B.↗

Correlation of freestream pressure disturbances in supersonic wind tunnels

An attempt is made to correlate data for freestream disturbance levels in terms of parameters that can be easily calculated for most wind tunnels. A correlation expression is derived assuming that the fluctuating pressure at the wall of the supersonic wind tunnel are related to fluctuating pressures in the freestream. The acoustic origins, flow properties, and geometric factors are taken into account. The suggested correlations of wind tunnel disturbances provide good predictions of rms pressure disturbances in the freestream of wind tunnels or on the surface of cones at Mach numbers greater than 2.5.

Stainback, P. C.↗

Strong electron heat flux modes in Jupiter's foreshock

Analysis of Voyager plasma wave data from the Jovian foreshock has revealed the existence of a new oscillation with center frequency below fp and typically lying above the upper limit Doppler shift frequency for ion acoustic waves. The properties of these waves are consistent with modes generated by a strong electron heat flux in an unmagnetized plasma. Such modes become unstable when the effective drift velocity exceeds n(cold)/(hot) exp 1/2 times the thermal speed of the hot component. The occasional simultaneous appearance of more than one frequency band is a possible indication of multiple magnetic connection with the shock.

Moses, S. L.↗

An acoustic charge transport imager for high definition television applications

This report covers: (1) invention of a new, ultra-low noise, low operating voltage APD which is expected to offer far better performance than the existing volume doped APD device; (2) performance of a comprehensive series of experiments on the acoustic and piezoelectric properties of ZnO films sputtered on GaAs which can possibly lead to a decrease in the required rf drive power for ACT devices by 15dB; (3) development of an advanced, hydrodynamic, macroscopic simulator used for evaluating the performance of ACT and CTD devices and aiding in the development of the next generation of devices; (4) experimental development of CTD devices which utilize a p-doped top barrier demonstrating charge storage capacity and low leakage currents; (5) refinements in materials growth techniques and in situ controls to lower surface defect densities to record levels as well as increase material uniformity and quality.

Hunt, William D.↗

Time-Domain Impedance Boundary Conditions for Computational Aeroacoustics

It is an accepted practice in aeroacoustics to characterize the properties of an acoustically treated surface by a quantity known as impedance. Impedance is a complex quantity. As such, it is designed primarily for frequency-domain analysis. Time-domain boundary conditions that are the equivalent of the frequency-domain impedance boundary condition are proposed. Both single frequency and model broadband time-domain impedance boundary conditions are provided. It is shown that the proposed boundary conditions, together with the linearized Euler equations, form well-posed initial boundary value problems. Unlike ill-posed problems, they are free from spurious instabilities that would render time-marching computational solutions impossible.

Tam, Christopher K. W.↗

Development of a Rayleigh Scattering Diagnostic for Time-Resolved Gas Flow Velocity, Temperature, and Density Measurements in Aerodynamic Test Facilities

A molecular Rayleigh scattering technique is developed to measure time-resolved gas velocity, temperature, and density in unseeded turbulent flows at sampling rates up to 32 kHz. A high power continuous-wave laser beam is focused at a point in an air flow field and Rayleigh scattered light is collected and fiber-optically transmitted to the spectral analysis and detection equipment. The spectrum of the light, which contains information about the temperature and velocity of the flow, is analyzed using a Fabry-Perot interferometer. Photomultiplier tubes operated in the photon counting mode allow high frequency sampling of the circular interference pattern to provide time-resolved flow property measurements. An acoustically driven nozzle flow is studied to validate velocity fluctuation measurements, and an asymmetric oscillating counterflow with unequal enthalpies is studied to validate the measurement of temperature fluctuations. Velocity fluctuations are compared with constant temperature anemometry measurements and temperature fluctuations are compared with constant current anemometry measurements at the same locations. Time-series and power spectra of the temperature and velocity measurements are presented. A numerical simulation of the light scattering and detection process was developed and compared with experimental data for future use as an experiment design tool.

Mielke, Amy F.↗

Investigation of Flow Conditioners for Compact Jet Engine Simulator Rig Noise Reduction

The design requirements for two new Compact Jet Engine Simulator (CJES) units for upcoming wind tunnel testing lead to the distinct possibility of rig noise contamination. The acoustic and aerodynamic properties of several flow conditioner devices are investigated over a range of operating conditions relevant to the CJES units to mitigate the risk of rig noise. An impinging jet broadband noise source is placed in the upstream plenum of the test facility permitting measurements of not only flow conditioner self-noise, but also noise attenuation characteristics. Several perforated plate and honeycomb samples of high porosity show minimal self-noise but also minimal attenuation capability. Conversely, low porosity perforated plate and sintered wire mesh conditioners exhibit noticeable attenuation but also unacceptable self-noise. One fine wire mesh sample (DP450661) shows minimal selfnoise and reasonable attenuation, particularly when combined in series with a 15.6 percent open area (POA) perforated plate upstream. This configuration is the preferred flow conditioner system for the CJES, providing up to 20 dB of broadband attenuation capability with minimal self-noise.

Doty, Michael J.↗

Energetic particle-induced geodesic acoustic modes on DIII-D

Various properties of the energetic particle-induced geodesic acoustic mode (EGAM) are explored in this large database analysis of DIII-D experimental data. EGAMs are n = 0 modes with m = 0 electrostatic potential fluctuations (where n/m = toroidal/poloidal mode number), m = 1 density fluctuations, and m = 2 magnetic fluctuations. The fundamental frequency (~20–40 kHz) of the mode is typically below that of the traditional geodesic acoustic mode frequency. EGAMs are most easily destabilized by beams in the counter plasma current (counter-I p ) direction as compared to co-Ip and off-axis beams. During counter beam injection, the mode frequency is found to have the strongest linear dependence (correlation coefficient r = –0.71) with the safety factor (q). Here, the stability of the mode in the space of q and poloidal beta (β p ) shows a clear boundary for the mode stability. The stability of the mode depends more strongly on damping rate than on fast-ion drive for a given injection geometry.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Enhancement of Photoemission on p-Type GaAs Using Surface Acoustic Waves

We demonstrate that photoemission properties of p-type GaAs can be altered by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) generated on the GaAs surface due to dynamical piezoelectric fields of SAWs. Multiphysics simulations indicate that charge-carrier recombination is greatly reduced, and electron effective lifetime in p-doped GaAs may increase by a factor of 10× to 20×. It implies a significant increase, by a factor of 2× to 3×, of quantum efficiency (QE) for GaAs photoemission applications, like GaAs photocathodes. Conditions of different SAW wavelengths, swept SAW intensities, and varied incident photon energies were investigated. Essential steps in SAW device fabrication on a GaAs substrate are demonstrated, including deposition of an additional layer of ZnO for piezoelectric effect enhancement, measurements of current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the SAW device, and ability to survive high-temperature annealing. Results obtained and reported in this study provide the potential and basis for future studies on building SAW-enhanced photocathodes, as well as other GaAs photoelectric applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Density of molten oxides measured in an aero-acoustic levitator

Knowing the thermophysical properties of high-temperature melts can aid the design of melt processes and validate atomic structural models, such as those used in studying glass formation. Property measurements on such melts are challenging, however, due to container-related contamination and heterogeneous nucleation. Containerless processing techniques that employ levitation can be used to avoid these obstacles. In that context, we demonstrate here the application of silhouette imaging to measure the density of molten oxides in an aero-acoustic levitation instrument (AAL). The AAL combines gas jet levitation with actively controlled acoustic positioning to enable full optical access to samples ca. 2–4 mm in diameter, which are laser beam heated and melted. The cross sections of molten drops are imaged using a monochromatic light source and narrowband-filtered camera. Melt volume is calculated from the cross sections and used to find density at several temperatures ranging 1530–1920 K, including up to 350 K of supercooling. We report densities for CaAl 2 O 4 , Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 , CaSiO 3 , their Fe 2 O 3 -bearing analogs, and 83TiO 2 -17RE 2 O 3 (RE = La or Nd). These provide important benchmarks of the capabilities, measurement uncertainties, and future outlook for this technique.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Anharmonic properties of solids from measurements of the stress acoustic constant

The equations of elastic motion and their solutions are generalized in order to include nonzero homogeneous initial stresses and redefine the stress acoustic constants to include the effect of initial stress. In deriving the relationship between the stress acoustic constants and the strain-generalized Gruneisen parameters, implications in material anharmonicity and nonlinear thermoelasticity are discovered. It is found that the linear change in velocity obtained from these measurements is a nonlinear process resulting from anharmonicity in the interatomic potential. In addition, the thermal expansion coefficient can also be expressed in terms of linear combinations.

Cantrell, J. H., Jr.↗

Acoustic wave propagation in heterogeneous structures including experimental validation

A finite element model was developed to solve for the acoustic pressure and energy fields in a heterogeneous suppressor. The derivations from the governing equations assumed that the material properties could vary with position resulting in a heterogeneous variable property two-dimensional wave equation. This eliminated the necessity of finding the boundary conditions between different materials. For a two media region consisting of part air and part bulk absorber, a model was used to describe the bulk absorber properties in two directions. Complex metallic structures inside the air duct are simulated by simply changing element properties from air to the structural material in a pattern to describe the desired shapes. To verify the numerical theory, experiments were conducted without flow in a rectangular duct with a single folded cavity mounted above the duct and absorbing material mounted inside a cavity. Changes in a nearly plane wave sound field were measured on the wall opposite the absorbing cavity. Fairly good agreement was found in the standing wave pattern upstream of the absorber and in the decay of pressure level opposite the absorber, as a function of distance along the duct. The finite element model provides a convenient method for evaluating the acoustic properties of bulk absorbers.

Baumeister, Kenneth J.↗

Acoustic wave propagation in heterogeneous structures including experimental validation

A finite element model was developed to solve for the acoustic pressure and energy fields in a heterogeneous suppressor. The derivations from the governing equations assumed that the material properties could vary with position resulting in a heterogeneous variable property two-dimensional wave equation. This eliminated the necessity of finding the boundary conditions between different materials. For a two-media region consisting of part air and part bulk absorber, a model was used to describe the bulk absorber properties in two directions. Complex metallic structures inside the air duct are simulated by simply changing element properties from air to the structural material in a pattern to describe the desired shapes. To verify the numerical theory, experiments were conducted without flow in a rectangular duct with a single folded cavity mounted above the duct and absorbing material mounted inside a cavity. Changes in a nearly plane wave sound field were measured on the wall opposite the absorbing cavity. Fairly good agreement was found in the standing wave pattern upstream of the absorber and in the decay of pressure level opposite the absorber, as a function of distance along the duct. The finite element model provides a convenient method for evaluating the acoustic properties of bulk absorbers.

Baumeister, Kenneth J.↗

Experimental assessment of helicopter rotor turbulence ingestion noise in hover

An experiment was conducted to assess the accuracy of a theory for non-isotropic turbulence ingestion. In order to generate non-isotropic turbulence in a controlled environment, a scale model rotor in a closed chamber was used so that the turbulence generated by the rotor was reingested by the recirculating flow. Simultaneous measurements of turbulence inflow properties and far field acoustics were acquired. Measurements confirmed that the inflow turbulence was highly non-isotropic. The measured aerodynamic properties were used as inputs for the noise prediction procedure. The general agreement between the non-isotropic noise prediction procedure and the experiment was good, although the procedure generally overpredicts the quasi-tonal low to mid range frequencies and underpredicts the higher broadband signals. The predicted sound power level as a function of polar angle was in close agreement with measurements, except near the rotor plane, which is not modeled by the present analysis. It is determined that the most sensitive parameter influencing the predicted noise was the turbulence intensity.

Simonich, J. C.↗