Turbulent flow over a rough surface produces sound that radiates outside the near wall region. This noise source is often at a lower level than the noise created by edges and bluff body flows, but for applications with large surface area to perimeter ratios at low Mach number, this noise source can have considerable levels. In the first part of this dissertation, a detailed study is made of the ability of the Glegg & Devenport (2009) scattering theory to predict roughness noise. To this end, comparisons are made with measurements from cuboidal and hemispherical roughness with roughness Reynolds numbers, hu_Ï /ν, ranging from 24 to 197 and roughness height to boundary layer thickness ratios of 5 to 18. Their theory is shown to work very accurately to predict the noise from surfaces with large roughness Reynolds numbers, but for cases with highly inhomogeneous wall pressure fields, differences grow between estimation and measurement. For these surfaces, the absolute levels were underpredicted but the spectral shape of the measurement was correctly determined indicating that the relationship of the radiated noise with the wavenumber wall pressure spectrum and roughness geometry appears to remain relatively unchanged. In the second part of this dissertation, delay and sum beamforming and least-squares analyses were used to examine roughness noise recorded by a 36-sensor linear microphone array. These methods were employed to estimate the variation of source strengths through short fetches of large hemispherical and cuboidal element roughness. The analyses show that the lead rows of the fetches produced the greatest streamwise and spanwise noise radiation. The least-squares analysis confirmed the presence of streamwise and spanwise aligned dipoles emanating from each roughness element as suggested by the LES of Yang & Wang (2011). The least-squares calculated source strengths show that the streamwise aligned dipole is always stronger than that of the spanwise dipole, but the relative magnitude of the difference varies with frequency. / Ph. D.

Roughness noise can be a significant contributor of sound in low Mach number, high Reynolds number flows. Only a small amount of experimental research has been conducted to analyze roughness noise because of its often low energy levels that are hard to isolate even in a laboratory setting. This study details efforts to scale the roughness noise while independently varying roughness size and edge velocity. Measurements were taken in the Virginia Tech Anechoic Wall Jet Facility for stochastic rough surfaces varying from hydrodynamically smooth to fully rough as well as deterministic rough surfaces including 1mm and 3mm hemispheres and a 2D wavy wall. Inner and outer variable normalizations were applied to recorded far field data in an attempt to find specific driving variables of the roughness noise. Also, a newly formulated derivation that attempts to scale the far field sound from a single point wall pressure measurement was used to collapse the far field noise. From the results, the inner and outer variable scalings were unable to collapse the noise generated by all velocities and roughness sizes. The changing spectral shapes of noise generated by rough surfaces with significantly varying wavenumber spectra make it impossible to scale the produced noise using the proposed inner and outer variable scalings. They use only one a single scaling value for the entire frequency range of each spectrum. The analyzed wall pressure normalization, which is inherently frequency dependent, produces a tight collapse within the uncertainty of the measurements for all rough surfaces studied except the larger hemispherical roughness which had individual elements that dominated the surrounding region of the wall pressure microphone. This indicates that the roughness generated noise is directly proportional to the wall pressure spectrum. The collapsed data displayed a slope of Ï ^2, the expected dipole efficiency factor. This is the clearest confirmation to date that the roughness noise source is of a dipole nature. / Master of Science

The wings of most species of owl have been shown to possess three unique physical attributes which allow them to hunt in effective silence: a comb of evenly-spaced bristles along the wing leading-edge; a compliant and porous fringe of feathers at the trailing-edge; and a velvety down material distributed over the upper wing surface. This investigation focuses on the last of the mechanisms as a means to reduce noise from flow over surface roughness. A microscopic study of several owl feathers revealed the structure of the velvety down to be very similar to that of a forest or a field of crops. Analogous surface treatments (suspended canopies) were designed which simulated the most essential geometric features of the velvety down material. The Virginia Tech Anechoic Wall-Jet Facility was used to perform far-field noise and surface pressure fluctuation measurements in the presence of various combinations of rough surfaces and suspended canopies. All canopies were demonstrated to have a strong influence on the surface pressure spectra, and attenuations of up to 30 dB were observed. In addition, all canopies were shown to have some positive effects on far-field noise, and optimized canopies yielded far-field noise reductions of up to 8 dB across all frequencies at which roughness noise was observed. This development represents a new passive method for roughness noise control with possibility for future optimization and application to engineering structures. / Master of Science

Noise from fluid flow over rough surfaces is an important consideration in the design and performance of certain vehicles with high surface-area-to-perimeter ratios. A new method of noise control based on the anatomy of owls is developed and consists of fabric or fibrous canopies suspended above the surface. The method is tested experimentally and is found to reduce the total far-field noise emitted by the surface. The treatment also is found to reduce the magnitude of pressure fluctuations felt by the underlying surface by up to three orders of magnitude. Experimental investigations into the effects of geometric parameters of the canopies lead to an optimized design which maximizes noise reduction. The results obtained during the canopy experiment inspired a separate new device for the reduction of trailing edge noise. This type of noise is generated by flow past the wing of an aircraft or the blades of a wind turbine, and is a source of annoyance for those in surrounding communities. The newly developed treatment consists of small fins, or "finlets," placed near the trailing edge of an airfoil. The treatment is tested experimentally at near-full-scale conditions and is found to reduce the magnitude of far-field noise by up to 10 dB. Geometric parameters of the finlets are tested to determine the optimal size and spacing of the finlets to maximize noise reduction. Follow-up computational and experimental studies reveal the fluid mechanics behind the noise reduction by showing that the finlets produce a velocity deficit in the flow near the trailing edge and limit the magnitude and spanwise correlation lengthscale of turbulence near the trailing edge, factors which determine the magnitude of far-field noise. In a final experiment, the finlets are applied to a marine propeller and are found to reduce not only trailing edge noise, but also noise caused by the bluntness of the trailing edge. The results of this experiment show the potential usefulness of finlets to reduce noise from rotating systems, such as fans or propellers, as well as from structures which feature blunt trailing edges. / Ph. D. / As vehicles and other engineering structures, such as wind turbines, pass through the atmosphere or ocean, noise is produced when fluid is disturbed by their passage. The dominant source of this noise may be a certain geometrical or structural feature depending on the type of vehicle or structure in question. The noise from marine vehicles can be dominated by interaction between the fluid flow and any roughness present on the surface of the vehicle, and this is termed roughness noise. This noise can be detrimental to the performance and efficient operation of marine vehicles, and few options exist to suppress this noise apart from removing the roughness itself. As this is not always feasible if the structure’s design depends on the presence of roughness (for example, rivet heads which fasten structural components of the vehicle), other methods of noise control would be valuable. The noise from large, rotating wind turbines is dominated by interaction between the fluid flow and the sharp trailing edges of the turbine blades, termed trailing edge noise. This noise can travel significant distances from wind turbines and can be a source of annoyance for those living in nearby communities. New methods of noise control would significantly improve the quality of life in these communities and increase the viability and popularity of wind energy. This work takes inspiration from the anatomical features of silently-flying owls to develop new methods to control both roughness noise and trailing edge noise. Experiments and simulations were carried out to prove the effectiveness of these methods and to gain scientific understanding of the fluid mechanics responsible for noise reduction. The developments described in the present work give engineers new tools for designing future vehicles and wind turbines which operate more quietly and more efficiently.

This study focuses on measuring and normalizing the roughness noise of multiple roughness types across numerous layouts and flow speeds. Using the Virginia Tech Anechoic Wall Jet Facility, far field noise was recording for the flow of a turbulent wall jet boundary layer over cubes, hemispheres, and gravel, with element heights in the range of 14.3 - 55.2% of the boundary layer thickness. The sound radiated from the various layouts showed that the elements acted as independent sources when separated by three element diameters center-to-center or more. When the elements were placed shoulder to shoulder, interaction between the elements and shielding of the higher velocity flow lowered the noise per element produced. The far field roughness noise was then normalized using the theory of Glegg et al. (2007), which assumes a dipole efficiency factor. Comparisons were made between the theoretical drag spectrum model proposed by Glegg et al. (1987) and a modified version of this model made using the empirical data gathered. Overall, the theory of Glegg et al. (2007) succeeds greatly in collapsing the data into its non-dimensional drag spectra, but the original model spectrum did not fit well. The modified spectrum showed much greater fit with the data at all layouts and speeds. The collapse of the data using the theory of Glegg et al. (2007) confirms that roughness noise is dipole in nature. / Master of Science

The objective of the present work is to study the vehicle suspension as a vibro-acoustic system of high complexity, consisting of many sub-systems with fundamentally different acoustical properties. In a parallel numerical and experimental modelling effort, important contributions to the understanding of its behaviour have been achieved. These findings are based on a balance between component investigations and global modelling of the complete system; they have been formulated for the transmission of both tyre-road excitation and friction-induced vibrations in the brake system. Initially an experimental study was conducted on a full vehicle test rig studying the broadband interior brake noise problem of, here named, roughness noise. The purpose of the study was twofold: first, to determine if the transmission from the source to the interior of the vehicle was structure-borne; second, to study the complexity of the suspension as a vibro-acoustic system. Parameters a_ecting the vibro-acoustic source were varied to gain understanding of the source mechanisms. This experimental study laid the foundation of the first part of this thesis (paper A) and provided the directions for the second part, the development of a mathematical modelling approach (paper B and C). In these two papers, methods for analysing the complex vibro-acoustic transfer of structure-borne sound in a vehicle suspension system were developed. The last part was then focussed on the wheel rim influence on the vibro-acoustic behaviour (paper D) of the suspension system. As a whole, the work clearly demonstrates that it is possible to conduct component studies of subsystems in the vehicle suspension system; and from these component studies it is possible draw conclusions that very well may avoid severe degradations in the interior noise of future vehicle generations. / <p>QC 20130503</p>

Prediction of vehicle disc brake roughness noise is a non-trivial challenge. In fact, neither the source mechanisms, nor the transfer paths are so far well understood. Traditionally, disc brake noise problems are studied as part of the friction-induced noise field, where the source is considered to be a more or less local phenomenon related to the brake disc and brake pad. However, for the roughness noise of interest here this viewpoint is not adequate when attempting to solve the interior noise problem since the transfer of vibro-energy from the brake into the vehicle body is a crucial aspect and plays an important role in the understanding and solution to the problem. The vibroacoustic energy transfer associated with the brake roughness noise is a problem where geometrical complexity and material combinations, including rubber bushings, pose an intricate modelling problem. Additionally, system altering effects from moving parts and loadings are important, e.g. due to the steering or brake systems. In addition, the source mechanisms themselves must also be understood to be able to solve the problem. The current work constitutes a combined experimental and theoretical investigation, aiming at an increased understanding of the source, the transfer paths and how they are a affected by change in the operational state. The experimental study of the vehicle disc brake roughness noise, is based on measurements conducted in a laboratory using a complete passenger car. It is found that the interior noise is a structural-borne broadband noise event well correlated to vehicle speed and brake pressure. The results suggest that the friction source may be divided into vibrations created in the sliding direction and vibrations created normal to the contact plane, where the sliding direction levels appear to be proportional to brake pressure according to Coulomb’s friction law; the vibration level in the normal direction of the contact plane on the other hand has behaviour proportional to Hertz contact theory. The measurements also indicate that the brake force created carried by the suspension system when braking will also alter the vibro-acoustic response of the system. To facilitate the theoretical simulations, an approach for modelling of the suspension system is developed. The vibro-acoustic transfer path model developed is using a modal based on the Craig-Bampton method where a restriction on the coupling modes is suggested. The approach suggested uses undeformed coupling interfaces, to couple structures of fundamentally different stiffness such as may be the case in a vehicle suspension system where for instance rubber bushings are combined with steel linking arms. The approach show great potential inreducing computational cost compared to the classical Craig-Bampton method. / QC 20110913