Aero-acoustic assessment of

turbomachinery using advanced

turbulence modelling methods

Satish Patange
ANSYS UK Ltd
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Outline
Sound propagation

Acoustics modeling

Applications of rotating machines

Fan flow

SRS

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Acoustics Key features

Magnitude of acoustic waves is very
small compared to aerodynamic
pressure.
Acoustic radiation contains only a tiny
fraction of primary flow energy.
Most unsteadiness in flow is pseudo sound
and does not radiate!

Acoustic problems are unsteady!

Frequency range of interest is quite
large:

Frequency range 20Hz 20kHz

Temporal resolution for acoustics is orders of

magnitude larger than the interesting time

scales in the flow.
Small eddies need to be captured, requires
spatial resolution.
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Aero acoustics Source Classification

Monopole

Dipole

Quadrupole

simple source

two mopoles

two dipoles

m& = m& (t )

psurface = psurface(t)

= (t)

Unsteady mass
injection

Unsteady external
forces

Unsteady turbulent
shear stresses

Acoustic ~ U 3M
Power

Acoustic ~ U 3M 3
Power

Acoustic ~ U 3M 5
Power

Monopole and dipole sources dominant at low Mach numbers.

Scaling valid for acoustically compact sources, >> L!
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Aero acoustics Approaches

Turbomachinery Noise
Discrete + Broadband

Monopole

Dipole

Quadrupole

Blade Thickness Noise

Discrete

Blade Loading Noise

Discrete + Broadband

Turbulence Noise
Broadband

Steady Rotating Forces

(Lowson/Gutin Models)
Discrete
Steady flow, discrete

Unsteady Rotating Forces

Discrete + Broadband

Unsteady flow, discrete + broadband

Secondary flow, discrete + broadband
Vortex shedding, narrowband + broadband
Turbulent BL, broadband

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Aero acoustics Simulation Basics

Aeroacoustics modeling involves simulation of
two aspects

Sound source
Provides source characteristics and rankings

Sound propagation
Propagation of sound from the source to the receiver
Requires input of source characteristics
Provides
Sound spectrum and receiver
Sound directivity

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Aero acoustics Simulation Basics

Sound source simulation is done with detailed CFD analysis of
flow around the blades, hub, shroud, etc.
Can be done in two ways
Steady State
Transient
Advantages/Disadvantages
Steady State
Computationally cheap, fast, but not very accurate

Transient
Computationally expensive, slow, but more accurate
After all, sound generation is a highly transient phenomenon
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Aero acoustics Simulation Basics

Practical usage of Steady State and Transient methods

Final
Design

Design
Possibilities

Design
Screening
Methods

Simple hand
calculations

Steady State

Transient and
Experimentation

Increasing Accuracy and Expense

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Aero acoustics Simulation Basics

Sound propagation can be calculated in different ways
CAA (Computational Aero Acoustics)
Direct sound computation
Uses the transient turbulence modeling capability in CFD
LES, WMLES, DES, Detached DES and Scale Adaptive
simulation
SSPM (Segregated Source-Propagation Methods)
Propagation is decoupled from source
Source and propagation are treated as mutually independent
Models many be used for computing propagation

Lighthill-Curle Method
Ffowcs-Williams-Hawkings Method
FEM/BEM (Solution of Lighthills equation/Wave equation)
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Computational Aero Acoustics (CAA)

In fact, wave equation is a special case of Navier-Stokes equations.

CFD solves the Navier-Stokes equations.

In theory, sound generation as well as propagation can be simulated by:
Transient, compressible CFD simulation
With computational domain spanning from sources to receivers!
Monitor static pressure at the receiver locations as function of time

SRS (or URANS if tonal noise)

No further models involved!

SAS of a side view mirror

(ReD = 520 000)

140
130
120
110
100

SPL [dB]

90
80
70
60

Sensor 121

50
40
30

Freestream Velocity = 140 km/h

20

Experimental data

10

SAS model

0
10

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

100
Frequency [Hz]

1000

10

Acoustic analogy
Acoustic analogy assumes acoustics can be decoupled from flow dynamics.
On the basis of Lighthills analogy:
Noise Sources are assumed in a uniform fluid at rest
Acoustic field at observer is described by wave equation
Resolution of acoustic and dynamic flow field are decoupled
Based on two steps:
Simulate transient flow field accurately using CFD to get the acoustic sources
location and intensity
Propagate noise from sources to receiver by solving wave equation
analytically
Acoustic
receiver

CFD domain
Acoustic sources
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

Wave Equation
September, 2014

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Acoustic Analogy Integral FW-H

The solution contains surface integrals over source surfaces and a
volume integral

Less sensitive to proper placement of permeable source surfaces
than other integral methods (e.g. Kirchhoff)
Volume integral not directly solved too time consuming

Collect all sources inside permeable surface
Noise generated in the fluid volume
(Quadrupole)
Loading noise
(Dipole)
where
Thickness noise
(Monopole)

Williams, J. E. F. and Hawkings, D. L. (1969): Sound generation by turbulence and surfaces in

arbitrary motion. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. A264, pp. 321-342.
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FW-H Example: Canon Loudspeaker

Bass-reflex loudspeaker to increase
efficiency of the system at low
frequencies

Low frequencies sound radiated
through the port and added in phase
with the driver front wave
3 million cells, t = 8*10-6 s
M.Younsi, G.Kergourlay, V. Morgenthaler, Near Field and
Far Field Prediction of Noise in and around a
Loudspeaker: A Numerical and Experimental
Investigation EURONOISE 2012, 1013 June, Prague

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

moving zone
deforming zone
Courtesy of Canon

13

Lowson/Gutin Model
Lowson
Noise level @ specific location
Unsteady load replaced by steady load
multiplied by exponential decay function
(semi-empirical):

Fx ( ) Fx 0 h

F ( ) = F
y y0

Directivity plot of
1st harmonic

Wave propagation from rotational

symmetric geometries (Bessel
function)
Gutin
Steady loading noise of blades
Solver rotates signal, not geometry
Considers thickness noise (monopoles)
and loading noise (dipoles)
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

Steady-state vs. transient for 2-bladed fan

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Aero acoustics Approaches

ModalAnalysis

Broadband
noise
modeling

3rd party
coupling
(1-way)

Features &
Limitations

CAA

Acoustic
analogy
(FWH)

Computation
cost

Most

Fair

Moderate

Moderate

Least

Fair

Account for
reflection

Yes

No

No

No

No

Yes

Account for
effect of
sound on
flow

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Solution
scheme

Transient

Transient

Steady State

Steady State

Steady State

Transient

Accuracy

Very
Good

Good

Limited

Limited

Limited

Good

Lowson/
Gutin

Decreasing computational effort

Increasing accuracy
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Applications in rotating machines

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Fan Noise Macro in CFD-Post

Specific to ANSYS CFX
Based on the Lowson Noise Model

Low speed machines : Tip Mach Number < 0.35

High Mach number : Less accurate
Forces acting as punctual force on gravity center
Small blade span
Usage of semi-empirical coefficient to define loading decay

Acoustics Pressure at mth Harmonic

imz 2 = +
mz Fy ( )
mz
(
)
(
)

pm =
i
cos
F
.

J mz (mzM sin )
2..c o .r1 =
mz
M

Where, = Harmonic Mode; M =Mach Number; z = Blade Number; = Rotational Speed (rad/s)
h = Loading Coefficient (2.0 ~ 2.5)
Unsteady Force Components
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

Fx ( ) Fx 0 h
Steady State Force Components : Fx0 & Fy0

F ( ) = F
y y0
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Fan / Turbo Noise Macro [1]

Fan / Turbo Noise Calculation Examples

Typical Fan Noise Output Results

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Broadband Noise Models

Two kinds of models are available in ANSYS Fluent

Broadband models based on averaged quantities

Proudmans formula for turbulence noise
Turbulent boundary layer noise model
Jet noise model (2D axisymmetric only)
Broadband models based on reconstruction of flow field fluctuations
Source terms in Linearized Euler equations (LEE)
Source terms in Lilleys equation
ANSYS CFX

Estimate of noise source strength

Monopole sources
Dipole or rotating dipole sources
Quadrupole sources
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Sound Source Strength Prediction [1]

Monopole Terms

ANSYS CFD Post

ANSYS CFX-Pre setup

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Sound Source Strength Prediction [2]

Dipole Terms

ANSYS CFD Post

ANSYS CFX-Pre setup

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Sound Source Strength Prediction [3]

Quadrupole Terms

ANSYS CFD Post

ANSYS CFX-Pre setup

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

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Sound Source Strength Prediction [4]

Design Comparison

Optimized Design

Forward

Forward: Low Noise at Design Point

Original Design

Radial

radial

Forward

Design point

Measurements
2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Case Study #1
Aeroacoustics Modeling of a Centrifugal Fan Using ANSYS CFX
N = 3000 rpm Z = 39 Blades
Near Field & Far Field Noise Prediction
Steady Flow Simulation using SST

Turbulence Model
Unsteady Flow Simulation using Scale
Adaptive Simulation (SAS) Turbulence
Model
Node Count = 2.177 Million
6 Near Field Microphone (Two used to
Capture Noise Spectra)
1 Far Field Microphone
Far Field Noise Modeling using ANSYS
CFX Turbo Noise Macro Based on
Lowson Model

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Case Study #1
Aeroacoustics Modeling of a Centrifugal Fan Using ANSYS CFX

Near Field Microphones

Far Field Microphones

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

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Case Study #1
Aeroacoustics Modeling of a Centrifugal Fan Using ANSYS CFX

Microphone #4

Microphone #1

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

Near Field Noise Prediction

September, 2014

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Case Study #1
Aeroacoustics Modeling of a Centrifugal Fan Using ANSYS CFX
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Experimental data

Sound Pressure levels, dB

60

TurboNoise macro

ANSYS CFX Turbo Noise (Based

on Lowson Model)

50

40

SPL [dB]
At BPF
TurboNoise 56.8
Experiments 55.9

30

20

10

0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Frequency, Hz

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

Near Field Noise Prediction

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Case Study #2
Aeroacoustics Modeling of an Automotive Electric Cooling Fan
Using ANSYS Fluent
Free-standing fan (open to

atmosphere on all sides)

Nine, evenly spaced blades Fan Speed
= 2000 rpm
Single Reference Frame
Single Blade Modeling
Cell Count ~ 10 Million
LES Turbulence Model
FW-H Model For Far-Field Sound
Propagation

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Case Study #2
Aeroacoustics Modeling of an Automotive Electric Cooling Fan
Using ANSYS Fluent
Grid & Temporal Resolution Verification:

Height of First Cell Center on the blade

is roughly equal to the Taylor length
scale (
)
Grid is fine enough to capture eddies in
the inertial sub-range
Therefore the grid is good for
conducting a true LES computation

Taylor Length Scale : Blade Pressure Side

Low values
occur at
higher radius
due to higher
flow velocity

Time step required for LES /U

Steady state results indicate that the
timestep for transient LES solution
should be roughly 1E-6 second.

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Case Study #2
Aeroacoustics Modeling of an Automotive Electric Cooling Fan
Using ANSYS Fluent
Source Pressure Spectra
160
140

SPL (dB)

120
100
80
60

pt01

pt02

40

pt03

pt04

20

pt05

pt06

0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Frequency (Hz)

Near Field Sound Spectra

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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Case Study #2
Aeroacoustics Modeling of an Automotive Electric Cooling Fan
Using ANSYS Fluent
Flow Structure
Instantaneous IsoSurface of 2nd Invariant
of Velocity Gradient

60

2000 RPM, 0 degrees, 1 meter

50

SPL (dBA)

40

Rotation

30

20

10

0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Frequency (Hz)

Far Field Sound Spectra

Rotation
Vortices in Near Wall
Region
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Conclusion
Unsteady simulations are the future for many CFD applications.
A wide spectrum of Scale Resolving models are available in ANSYS CFD :

o
o
o
o
o

LES,
WMLES,
(D-)DES,
EMBEDDED LES,
SAS.

Such models can be combined with different acoustic approaches,

particularly:

o Direct CAA,
o Acoustic analogy (FW-H).
Question is:

Which approach is best suited for which type of flows?

Best ratio of cost vs. performance.

Safest environment for user (limited sensitivity to mesh, time step, ).

User feed-back is always welcome and appreciated!

2014 ANSYS, Inc.

September, 2014

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