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Ocean noise pollution is an invisible but growing threat. There are many sources of sound in the ocean but human underwater radiated noise, in particular from shipping is one of the most prominent one. Ocean noise pollution can interfere or sometimes even directly harm marine life.  This thesis is in collaboration with Kongsberg Maritime which aims to develop an underwater radiated noise prediction method for the ELegance pod system. In particular, the focus is on the noise generated as a direct effect of the permanent magnet motor vibrations. Kongsberg wants to be able to calculate the underwater radiated noise for different pod geometries and engine configurations in order to find an optimal operating speed of the electric motor. The underwater radiated noise prediction is carried out using two methods. The first one is a 2-way coupled fluid-structure interaction harmonic response model, dealing with the vibrations. In addition, the flow induced noise is evaluated using CFD combined with Ffowcs-Williams Hawkings acoustic analogy.  The harmonic response model is used to calculate the sound in terms of a frequency response, which can be translated to revolutions per minute of the rotor. This allows Kongsberg to identify rotor speeds where the operation may or may not be optimal. The flow induced noise is investigated for a typical transit speed. The results show this noise is multiple orders of magnitude smaller than the sound caused by the vibrations. This together with the fact that the computational cost of CFD is large suggests that the flow induced noise is not something Kongsberg needs to consider at an early design stage. Neither the propeller nor cavitation is considered in this thesis, due to the limited computational resources but also that Kongsberg designs propellers that are vessel specific. These sources of sound become important when considering the full acoustic profile of a propulsion unit of this type.

Due to legislative reasons and environmental concerns the automotive and transport sector are shifting their focus from traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to development of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This brings new challanges to design of cooling systems where axial fans are one of the key components. Axial fans are usually designed with regards to a certain operating condition and outside this region the efficiency of the fan drops drastically. Due to difficulty in specifying the exact operational parameters when placed in a car, post-design optimization may be necessary to ensure maximized performance. This thesis focuses on fan blade shape optimization through mesh morphing using the surrogate based optimization algorithm called Efficient Global Optimization (EGO). The target fans was a 9 bladed prototype fan by Johnson Electric with uneven blade spacing. The optimization uses steady state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations to evaluate the fan designs and a Bezier curve parametrization in order to change the fan blade shape together with mesh morphing. The simulation setup was evaluated before peceding with the optimization, and showed good agreement close to intended operational conditions. Differences in turbulence modeling treatments were also evaluated in order to have a satisfactory agreement with measurement data. The EGO algorithm manages to provide fan designs with higher total-to-static efficiency at several different operational conditions. Evaluation of the optimized fan designs was limited to comparison with the provided measurement data and corrensponding simulations. Acoustic evaluation of selected fan designs is also attemped, but further work is required in order for the study to result in a quantitative comparison. / På grund av lagstiftning och miljöpåverkan har bil- och transportindustrin börjat skifta fokus från traditionella förbränningsfordon till utveckling av batteridrivna elbilar. Med detta medföljer nya utmaningar kring kylsystemsdesign där axiella fläktar är en av huvudkomponenterna hos systemet. Axiella fläktar är vanligtvis designade kring ett specifikt drifttillstånd och utanför detta har fläkten avsevärt lägre verkningsgrad. På grund av svårigheter att specificera detta drifttillstånd med hög precision, speciellt när fläkten monteras i en bil, kan efterdesigns-optimering vara nödvändigt för att uppnå maximal prestanda. Denna avhandling fokuserar på form-optimering av fläkt via mesh morphing med hjälp av den surrogat-baserade optimeringsalgoritmen Efficient Global Optimization (EGO). Fläkten som optimerades var en prototypfläkt designad av Johnson Electric med 9 fläktblad och icke-symmetriska mellanrum mellan bladen. I optimeringsprocessen användes icke-tidsberoende Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simuleringar för att utvärdera fläktdesignerna och parametrisering med hjälp av Bezier kurvor och mesh morphing för att ändra fläktbladen. Simulerings-uppställningen utvärderades innan optimeringen och bra överensstämning nära avsett driftstillstånd kunde påvisas. Skillnader i turbulens-modelering utvärderades även för att få en tillfredställande överensstämning med mätdata. EGO-algoritmen klarar att förse fläktdesigner med högre total-till-statisk verkningsgrad vid flera olika driftstillstånd. Utvärdering av fläktdesignerna var dock begränsad till jämförelse med mätdata och motsvarande simuleringsdata. En akustik utvärdering av utvalda fläkt-designer försöktes, men mer arbete krävs för att studien ska erhålla en kvantitativ jämförelse.

Cette étude porte sur le calcul numérique du champ acoustique rayonné par des écoulements subsoniques turbulents présentant des inhomogénéités de température. Des méthodes hybrides sont développées grâce à un développement de Janzen-Rayleigh des équations de Navier-Stokes. L'écoulement est résolu par un calcul quasi incompressible puis les perturbations acoustiques sont propagées selon deux méthodes : les équations d'Euler linéarisées (EEL) et l'approximation à faible nombre de Mach perturbée(PLMNA). Les méthodes sont validées sur des cas simples puis appliquées à une couche de mélange isotherme et anisotherme en développement spatial. / This study focuses on the numerical calculation of the acoustic field radiated by subsonic turbulent flows with temperature inhomogeneities. Hybrid methods are developed through a Rayleigh-Janzen expansion of the Navier-Stokes equations. The flow is solved in a quasi-incompressible way then the acoustic disturbances are propagated by two methods : the linearized Euler's equations (EEL) and the perturbed low Mach number approximation (PLMNA). The methods are validated on simple cases and then applied to an isothermal and non isothermal spatially evolving mixing layer.

Evaluating aerodynamic noise from aircraft engines is a design stage process, so that it conform to regulations at airports. Aerodynamic noise is also a principal source of structural vibration and internal noise in short/vertical take off and landing and rocket launches. Acoustic loads may be critical for the proper functioning of electronic and mechanical components. It is imperative to have tools with capability to predict noise generation from turbulent flows. Understanding the mechanism of noise generation is essential in identifying methods for noise reduction. Lighthill (1952) and Lighthill (1954) provided the first explanation for the mechanism of aerodynamic noise generation and a procedure to estimate the radiated sound field. Many such procedures, known as acoustic analogies are used for estimating the radiated sound field in terms of the turbulent fluid flow properties. In these methods, the governing equations of the fluid flow are rearranged into two parts, the acoustic sources and the propagation terms. The noise source terms and propagation terms are different in different approaches. A good description of the turbulent flow field and the noise sources is required to understand the mechanism of noise generation. Computational aeroacoustics (CAA) tools are used to calculate the radiated far field noise. The inputs to the CAA tools are results from CFD simulations which provide details of the turbulent flow field and noise sources. Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) solutions can be used as inputs to CAA tools which require only time-averaged mean quantities. The output of such tools will also be mean quantities. While complete unsteady turbulent flow details can be obtained from Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), the computation is limited to low or moderate Reynolds number flows. Large eddy simulations (LES) provide accurate description for the dynamics of a range of large scales. Most of the kinetic energy in a turbulent flow is accounted by the large-scale structures. It is also the large-scale structures which accounts for the maximum contribution towards the radiated sound field. The results from LES can be used as an input to a suitable CAA tool to calculate the sound field. Numerical prediction of turbulent flow field, the acoustic sources and the radiated sound field is at the focus of this study. LES based on explicit filtering method is used for the simulations. The method uses a low-pass compact filter to account for the sub-grid scale effects. A one-parameter fourth-order compact filter scheme from Lele (1992) is used for this purpose. LES has been carried out for four different flow situations: (i) round jet (ii) plane jet (iii) impinging round jet and (iv) impinging plane jet. LES has been used to calculate the unsteady flow evolution of these cases and the Lighthill’s acoustic sources. A compact difference scheme proposed by Hixon & Turkel (1998) which involves only bi-diagonal matrices are used for evaluating spatial derivatives. The scheme provides similar spectral resolution as standard tridiagonal compact schemes for the first spatial derivatives. The scheme is computationally less intensive as it involves only bi-diagonal matrices. Also, the scheme employs only a two-point stencil. To calculate the radiated sound field, the Helmholtz equation is solved using the Green’s function approach, in the form of the Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral. The integral is performed over a surface which is present entirely in the linear region and covers the volume where acoustic sources are present. The time series data of pressure and the normal component of the pressure gradient on the surface are obtained from the CFD results. The Fourier transforms of the time series of pressure and pressure gradient are then calculated and are used as input for the Kirchhoff-Helmholtz integral. The flow evolution for free jets is characterised by the growth of the instability waves in the shear layer which then rolls up into large vortices. These large vortical structures then break down into smaller ones in a cascade which are convected downstream with the flow. The rms values of the Lighthill’s acoustic sources showed that the sources are located mainly at regions immediately downstream of jet break down. This corresponds to the large scale structures at break down. The radiated sound field from free jets contains two components of noise from the large scales and from the small scales. The large structures are the dominant source for the radiated sound field. The contribution from the large structures is directional, mainly at small angles to the downstream direction. To account for the difference in jet core length, the far field SPL are calculated at points suitably shifted based on the jet core length. The peak value for the radiated sound field occurs between 30°and 35°as reported in literature. Convection of acoustic sources causes the radiated sound field to be altered due to Doppler effect. Lighthills sources along the shear layer were examined in the form of (x, t) plots and phase velocity pattern in (ω, k) plots to analyse for their convective speeds. These revealed that there is no unique convective speeds for the acoustic sources. The median convective velocity Uc of the acoustic sources in the shear layer is proportional to the jet velocity Uj at the center of the nozzle as Uc ≈ 0.6Uj. Simulations of the round jet at Mach number 0.9 were used for validating the LES approach. Five different cases of the round jet were used to understand the effect of Reynolds number and inflow perturbation on the flow, acoustic sources and the radiated sound field. Simulations were carried out for an Euler and LES at Reynolds number 3600 and 88000 at two different inflow perturbations. The LES results for the mean flow field, turbulence profiles and SPL directivity were compared with DNS of Freund (2001) and experimental data available in literature. The LES results showed that an increase in inflow forcing and higher Reynolds number caused the jet core length to reduce. The turbulent energy spectra showed that the energy content in smaller scale is higher for higher Reynolds number. LES of plane jets were carried out for two different cases, one with a co-flow and one without co-flow. LES of plane jets were carried out to understand the effect of co-flow on the sound field. The plane jets were of Mach number 0.5 and Reynolds number of 3000 based on center-line velocity excess at the nozzle. This is similar to the DNS by Stanley et al. (2002). It was identified that the co-flow leads to a reduction in turbulence levels. This was also corroborated by the turbulent energy spectrum plots. The far field radiation for the case without co-flow is higher over all angles. The contribution from the low frequencies is directional, mainly towards the downstream direction. The range of dominant convective velocities of the acoustic sources were different along shear layers and center-line. The plane jet results were also used to bring out a qualitative comparison of flow and the radiation characteristics with round jets. For the round jet, the center-line velocity decays linearly with the stream-wise distance. In the plane jet case, it is the square of the center-line velocity excess which decays linearly with the stream-wise distance. The turbulence levels at any section scales with the center-line stream-wise velocity. The decay of turbulence level is slower for the plane jet and hence the acoustic sources are present for longer distance along the downstream direction. Subsonic impinging jets are composed of four regions, the jet core, the fully developed jet, the impingement zone and the wall jet. The presence of the second region (fully developed free jet) depends on the distance of the wall from the nozzle and the length of the jet core. In impinging jets, reflection from the wall and the wall jet are additional sources of noise compared to the free jets. The results are analysed for the contribution of the different regions of the flow towards the radiated sound field. LES simulations of impinging round jets and impinging plane jet were carried out for this purpose. In addition, the results have been compared with equivalent free jets. The directivity plots showed that the SPL levels are significantly higher for the impinging jets at all angles. For free jets, a typical time scale for the acoustic sources is the ratio of the nozzle size to the jet velocity. This is ro/Uj for round jets and h/Uj for plane jets. For impinging jets, the non-dimensionlised rms of Lighthill’s source indicates that the time scale for acoustic sources is the ratio of the height of the nozzle from the wall to the jet velocity be L/Uj. LES of impinging round jets was carried out for two cases with different inflow perturbations. The jets were at Reynolds number of 88000 and Mach number of 0.9, same as the free jet cases. The impingement wall was at a distance L = 24ro from the nozzle exit. For impinging round jets, the SPL levels are found to be higher than the equivalent free jets. From the SPL levels and radiated noise spectra it was shown that the contribution from the large scale structures and its reflection from the wall is directional and at small angles to the wall normal. The difference in the range of angles where the radiation from the large scale structures were observed shows the significance of refraction of sound waves inside the flow. The rms values of the Lighthill’s sources indicate two dominant regions for the sources, just downstream of jet breakdown and in the impingement zone. The LES of impinging plane jet was done for a jet of Mach number 0.5 and Reynolds number of 6000. The impingement wall was at a distance L = 10h from the nozzle exit. The radiated sound field appears to emanate from this impingement zone. The directivity and the spectrum plots of the far field SPL indicate that there is no preferred direction of radiation from the impingement zone. The Lighthill’s sources are concentrated mainly in the impingement zone. The rms values of the sources indicate that the peak values occur in the impingement zone. The results from the different flow situations demonstrates the capability of LES with explicit filtering method in predicting the turbulent flow and radiated noise field. The method is robust and has been successfully used for moderate Reynolds number and an Euler simulation. An important feature is that LES can be used to identify acoustic sources and its convective speeds. It has been shown that the Lighthill source calculations, the calculated sound field and the observed radiation patterns agree well. An explanation for these based on the different turbulent flow structures has also been provided.

The goal of this thesis is to introduce the finite difference method (FDM) adjusted for usage in modeling of sound propagation, and other approaches that are used together with this method. These approaches include selective filtering and time integration using the Runge-Kutta method, which has low computer memory requirements. An important topic in modeling sound propagation are boundary conditions. The thesis examines and verifies several types of boundary conditions. Included in the thesis are solutions to example problems implemented in Matlab.

Although it is possible to directly solve an entire flow-acoustics problem in one computation, this approach remains prohibitively large in terms of the computational resource required for most practical applications. Aeroacoustic problems are therefore usually split into two parts; one consisting of the source computation and one of the source propagation. Although both these parts entail great challenges on the computational method, in terms of accuracy and efficiency, it is still better than the direct solution alternative. The source usually consists of highly turbulent flows, which for most cases will need to be, at least partly, resolved. Then, acoustic waves generated by these sources often have to be propagated for long distances compared to the wavelength and might be subjected to scattering by solid objects or convective effects by the flow. Numerical methods used solve these problems therefore have to possess low dispersion and dissipation error qualities for the solution to be accurate and resource efficient. The wave expansion method (WEM) is an efficient discretization technique, which is used for wave propagation problems. The method uses fundamental solutions to the wave operator in the discretization procedure and will thus produce accurate results at two to three points per wavelength. This thesis presents a method that uses the WEM in an aeroacoustic context. Addressing the propagation of acoustic waves and transfer of sources from flow to acoustic simulations. The proposed computational procedure is applied to a co-rotating vortex pair and a cylinder in cross-flow. Overall, the computed results agree well with analytical solutions. Although the WEM is efficient in terms of the spatial discretization, the procedure requires that a Moore-Penrose pseudo-inverse is evaluated at each unique node-neighbour stencil in the grid. This evaluation significantly slows the procedure. In this thesis, a method with a regular grid is explored to speed-up this process. / <p>QC 20161121</p>