This thesis considers linear perturbations to the steady flow of a compressible inviscid perfect gas along a cylindrical or annular duct. Particular consideration is given to the model of the duct boundary, and to the effect of curvature of the duct centreline. For a duct with a straight centreline and a locally-reacting boundary, the acoustic duct modes can be segregated into ordinary duct modes and surface modes. Previously-known asymptotics for the surface modes are generalized, and the generalization is shown to provide a distinctly better approximation in aeroacoustically relevant situations. The stability of the surface modes is considered, and previous stability analyses are shown to be incorrect, as their boundary model is illposed. By considering a metal thin-shell boundary, this illposedness is explained, and stability analysed using the Briggs-Bers criterion. The stability of a cylindrical thin shell containing compressible fluid is shown to differ significantly from the stability for an incompressible fluid, even for parameters for which the fluid would otherwise be expected to behave incompressibly. The scattering of sound by a sudden hard-wall to thin-shell boundary change is considered, using the Wiener-Hopf technique. The causal acoustic field is derived analytically, without the need to apply a Kutta-like condition or to include an instability wave, as had previously been necessary. Attention is then turned to a cylindrical duct with a curved centreline and either hard or locally-reacting walls. The centreline curvature (which is not assumed small) and wall radii vary slowly along the duct, enabling an asymptotic multiple scales analysis. The duct modes are found numerically at each axial location, and interesting characteristics are explained using ray theory. This analysis is applied to a hard-walled RAE 2129 duct, and frequency-domain solutions are convolved to give a time-domain example of a pulse propagating along this duct. Finally, some numerical work on the nonlinear propagation of a large-amplitude pulse along a curved duct is presented. This is aimed at modelling a surge event in an aeroengine with a convoluted intake.

Acoustic absorbing liners are efficient and commonly used measures to reduce sound levels in many fields of application. The sound reducingperformance of the liners is dependent on the acoustic state, defined by e.g. the flow and sound field interacting with the liner. To enable liner optimization the impact of these factors on the liner performance must be predictable. Studies of the impact of these factors were performed with existing experimental, analytical and numerical methods at low Mach number flows and material used in truck engine compartments. The study showed significant impact of both flow and sound field onthe liner performance. The size of the impact of the flow depends on which of the existing methods and models that was used, implying theneed of complementary methods. A new numerical method to model the boundary layer effect was for this reason developed in this work. The method was shown to predict the impact of flow correctly compared to the Pridmore-Brown solution and the method was computationally efficient. The sound reducing performance of a liner exposed to complex sound field and grazing flow can be predicted using existing methods together with the new proposed method. Extra care has to be taken when bulk reacting liners are considered since additional complications compared to locally reacting surfaces occur in presence the of grazing flow. / <p>QC 20130916</p>

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