Aerodynamically-induced noise in an automotive alternator

Dean M. Fredericka) and Gerald C. Lauchleb)

~Received 1994 August 19; revised 1995 January 25!
Sound radiated from rotating electrical machines, such as automotive alternators, can be
dominated by pure-tone components related to aerodynamic mechanisms. The purpose of the
work presented here was to develop both experimental and analytical methods to characterize
such tonal emissions from an automotive alternator. The standard 2-microphone acoustic
intensity technique was modified to emphasize measurement of ventilation-induced
synchronous tones via phase-locked sampling and time-domain averaging. Existing theory for
rotor-stator interaction tone analysis was modified to account for rotating and stationary
geometric features that gave rise to the measured synchronous ventilation-induced tones. The
analysis involved the computation of an order-based cross spectral density between the
circumferential geometric pattern of stationary and rotating alternator features „such as fan
blades…. The analysis was used successfully to predict the trends observed experimentally.
Computations and experimental data indicated that the dominant tone, at 18 times rotor shaft
speed, was due not to the 9-bladed cooling fan, but to the six rotor notches interacting with 18
openings in the stator windings. Filling and smoothing the notches resulted in a 12.9 dB
reduction of the sound intensity level of the 18th-order tone. © 1995 Institute of Noise Control
Engineering.
Primary subject classification: 11.5, Secondary subject classification: 21.6

1. INTRODUCTION tion and unsteady blade loading result in the generation of

With increased application of noise control technology
to automobiles, the noise produced by auxiliary engine
components has become more distinguishable and objec-
tionable. One such component, the alternator, has become
the focus of recent noise reduction efforts. Alternators are
capable of generating discrete-tone noise levels which con-
tribute to the spectrum of the sound inside a vehicle and
affect perceived vehicle interior sound quality.
Alternators have three generalized noise sources com-
mon to all rotating electric machines: ventilation airflow,
rotating mechanical components, and unsteady magnetic
forces.1 These sources combine to produce a spectrum char-
acterized by broadband noise and discrete frequency tones.
Spectral sound pressure levels and tonal frequencies are
generally dependent on the shaft rotation speed.
Mechanical noise is the result of bearing vibrations, ro-
tor imbalance, and brush contact. Mechanical noise also
includes belt and pulley noise and noise caused by mis-
alignment of the pulleys. Magnetic noise is caused by the
periodic disturbance of the magnetic flux between the rotor
and stator. This disturbance produces oscillating forces on
the rotor and stator which cause vibration and lead to radi-
ated noise.
Ventilation or aerodynamic noise is generated by the
cooling fans and by airflow-structure interactions. The fans
produce broadband noise related to airflow turbulence as
well as rotational frequency tones, and their harmonics,
generated as a result of rotor inflow distortion, unsteady
blade loading, and rotor-stator interaction.2 Inflow distor-
sound at the blade-passage frequency ~BPF! and its har-
monics. A blade-passage frequency is the product of the
number of blades and the shaft rotational speed in revolu-
tions per second.
Rotor-stator interaction can also contribute to the level
of the fundamental blade-passage tone and its harmonics
and may generate additional tones based on the number and
relative spacing of stator obstructions.3 Blade-passage and
rotor-stator interaction tones are synchronous with, and oc-
cur at integer multiples of, the shaft rotation speed. These
synchronous tones are often the most prominent of the
spectral components.
Ventilation airflow may produce fixed-frequency asyn-
chronous tones which are not directly related to rotation.
For example, flow instabilities can cause the formation and
shedding of vortices, at obstacles in the flow stream, which
produce sustained fluctuating pressures at discrete
frequencies.4 Structural resonances can also be excited by
the flow, with the potential for noise level increases.1
The objectives of this study were to measure and inter-
pret the ventilation-induced noise emitted by a typical au-
tomotive alternator. A new synchronous time-averaged
sound intensity measurement methodology was developed
and employed to identify dominant noise source mecha-
nisms. The relationships between the geometric features of
the alternator and measured noise levels were further clari-
fied through use of an analytical model of rotor-stator in-
teraction which accounts for unequal angular spacings of
geometric features.

a)
Ford Motor Company, Electrical and Fuel Handling Division, Rawson-
ville Plant, Room 2102, P.O. Box 75, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197, USA. 2. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
b)
Pennsylvania State University, Graduate Program in Acoustics, Applied
Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 30, State College, Pennsylvania 16840, Acoustical measurements were conducted in the
USA. anechoic chamber5 at the Applied Research Laboratory at

Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr © 1995 Institute of Noise Control Engineering 29
Pennsylvania State University. The test fixture was installed
on an elevated platform just above the concrete floor that
supports the bottom anechoic wedges. The fixture consisted
of an enclosed drive motor, an alternator support stand, and
a microphone probe positioner. The alternator was belt-
driven by a water-cooled, variable-speed ac motor with a
maximum shaft speed of 3500 rpm and a 3.2:1 sheave ratio.
The maximum alternator speed was 11,200 rpm. Belt ten-
sioning was accomplished via a sliding pivot fixture and an
adjustable eyebolt and cable assembly.
A 3-axis microphone-probe positioner permitted the
sound field to be scanned over a cylindrical pattern. The
probe was oriented to measure the radial and tangential ~or
circumferential! components of sound intensity in a plane
perpendicular to the alternator shaft as depicted in the de-
tailed sketch of the alternator in Fig. 1. The reference axes
for the radial, axial, and angular-position vector compo-
nents were denoted by R,Z, and u, respectively. Slider as-
semblies provided manual adjustment of radial and axial
position. Angular position was controlled remotely by the
stepper motor and gear reduction mechanism shown in Fig.
2.
In order to isolate alternator ventilation-induced noise,
extraneous noise sources were eliminated or suppressed. A
wooden enclosure, lined with sound-absorbing material,
minimized contamination from the noise of the drive motor.
By not energizing the rotor field coil, alternator magnetic
noise was eliminated. Alternator mechanical noise was re-
duced by removing the rotor-shaft slip ring brushes and
balancing the rotor.
Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the instruments
and control equipment used for acoustical measurements.
Fig. 1 – Detailed sketch of the alternator under study including the definition of the microphone-probe reference axes. Dimensions are in
millimetres.
30 Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr
Motor speed control was provided by a Borg/Warner 440-V
ac-to-dc inverter. The microphone angular positioning de-
vice was controlled by a Parker Compumotor series RM
stepper motor, a series 2100 indexer, and a model 721 po-
sition display. A Banner Engineering LP510CV optical sen-
sor, mounted inside the alternator casing, provided a once-
per-revolution tachometer and data-acquisition trigger
signal.
Sound pressure and intensity were measured using 12.7-
mm-diameter Bruel and Kjaer ~B&K! 4165 microphones in
a side-by-side probe configuration. Two microphone pairs
on the same probe permitted simultaneous measurements of
radial and tangential sound-intensity components. Micro-
phone pair center-to-center spacing was 19 mm. Micro-
phone signals were conditioned using B&K 2807 power
supplies and Ithaco 453 analog filter amplifiers. Digital data
acquisition was provided by a ZONIC A&D System 7000
signal processor. Acquisition control, calibration, and spec-
tral analysis computations were executed on a DEC VAX-
station 3100, model 38, using the ZONIC A&D Engineer-
ing Test and Analysis ~ZETA! software.
Fourier analysis of the sound pressure signals produced
spectra in both the frequency and rotational-order domains.
Conventional frequency-domain sound pressure level mea-
surements ~in decibels relative to the standard reference
sound pressure of 20 mPa! were used for initial diagnostic
investigations and for phase and amplitude calibration of
the sound pressure signals. Sound pressure level spectra
were obtained by mean-square averaging the results of suc-
cessive fast Fourier transform ~FFT! computations. FFT in-
put records were acquired at a constant sampling rate. For
rotational-order-domain measurements, the signal processor

Fig. 2 – Photograph of the experimental setup showing: (a) al-
ternator; (b) 4-microphone intensity probe; (c)
microphone-probe angular positioning mechanism.
continuously monitored the tachometer signal and synchro-
nized the data sampling rate accordingly. FFT input records
contained a fixed number of samples per shaft revolution
period. Order-domain processing, used exclusively for
sound intensity scans, provided the best means for identi-
fying synchronous tones and minimizing inaccuracies
caused by rotational speed fluctuations.
Two averaging methods were employed for
synchronous-tone measurements: mean-square averaging of
successive FFTs ~spectrum averaging! and time-domain en-
semble averaging. By averaging consecutive time records,
the latter method provided better resolution of synchronous
tones. Random, broadband, and asynchronous, or non-
integer-order, spectral components were suppressed. A
single FFT operation on the time-averaged microphone sig-
nal provided the spectral data required for sound pressure
level and intensity level computations.
For a typical order-tracking measurement, the FFT
analysis was configured with a 512-point record length and
128 samples per shaft revolution. Spectral leakage was
minimized by employing a Hanning time-window weight-
ing function. The number of ensembles per measurement
was adjusted, as required, to provide stable results for the
calculated sound pressure level spectra.
Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr
Fig. 3 – Schematic of acoustical measuring instruments and con-
trol system.
Sound-pressure measurement-system sensitivity levels
were established using a calibrated B&K 4220 pistonphone
producing a nominal 124-dB sound pressure level in the
cavity of the coupler at a nominal frequency of 250 Hz.
Measurement system sensitivity-level corrections were ap-
plied to all determinations of sound pressure level and in-
tensity level. It was assumed that the measurement-system
sensitivity-level corrections, determined at a single fre-
quency, were valid for the entire frequency range of inter-
est.
The sensitivity of the sound intensity technique to mi-
crophone phase mismatch errors required the computation
of phase corrections. Phase corrections for each micro-
phone pair were determined by exposing both sensors to
the same sound field and measuring the phase difference.
The microphones were placed at one end of a 38-mm-
diameter tube excited by a source of random noise. Phase
differences were determined by a 0-10 kHz FFT cross-
spectrum measurement. Repeating the measurement with
the sensor locations reversed, and averaging the two results,
compensated for irregularities in the excitation sound field.6
Frequency-domain phase calibrations were applied to alter-
nator order-domain intensity-level measurements by con-
verting the FFT order components to frequencies and inter-
polating. Interpolation frequencies f i , in hertz, were
computed according to
f i 5r i N, ~1!
where r i is the rotational order, and N is the average alter-
nator rotational speed in revolutions per second ~computed
for each time record from the average of the observed al-
ternator rotational speed in revolutions per minute divided
by 60!.
Mean-square active sound intensity, in watts per square
metre, was computed using the 2-microphone finite-
difference approximation.6 Calibrated order-domain cross
spectra were converted to the mean-square active sound
31
intensity vector Ia (r i!, for rotational order r i , according to
Ia ~ r i! 5 @ 1/~ 2 pr f id !# Im@ G p 1 p 2 ~ r i!# , ~2!
where d is the microphone spacing in metres, r is the den-
sity of the ambient air in kilograms per cubic metre, and
Im@ G p 1 p 2 (r i) # is the imaginary part of the cross spectrum,
in pascals squared, for the mean-square sound pressure sig-
nals sensed by a microphone pair for rotational order r i .
For the radial component, a positive intensity vector
magnitude indicated outward propagation of acoustic
power. A positive tangential vector magnitude indicated
propagation in the direction of shaft rotation. Intensity lev-
els for the radial and tangential components of the active
sound intensity are in decibels relative to the standard ref-
erence sound intensity of 1 pW/m2.
Inherent sound-intensity measurement system errors
limited the valid frequency range to approximately 600 to
3000 Hz. The upper frequency limit was determined by the
finite-difference approximation capability for the 19-mm
microphone separation distance. The lower frequency limit
Fig. 4 – Typical sound pressure spectra for: (a) alternator run-
was determined by the residual phase mismatch between
ning at nominal 6200 rpm; (b) drive motor alone and
microphone channels ~after correction! and the phase dif-
running at 1937 rpm (which would drive the alternator
ference of the actual sound field at the microphones.
at 6200 rpm); (c) ambient background noise in the
Pressure-intensity index and phase error index, as defined chamber including electronic instrument noise.
by Fahy,6 were monitored for each measurement to ensure
that consistent and acceptable measurement accuracy was
maintained relative to the error tolerances recommended by slots in the alternator casing. To evaluate the influence of
Fahy. these features, data reduction efforts focused on the 18th,
6th, 9th, 10th and 12th-order tones.
Sound intensity scans were conducted around the alter-
3. ACOUSTICAL MEASUREMENTS nator driven at a nominal 6200 rpm. The intent was not to
provide a detailed, three-dimensional description of the al-
Initial sound pressure level measurements confirmed the
ternator sound field, including active and reactive sound
tonal character of the spectrum of the sound radiated from
intensity. Rather a simple set of measurements was desired
the alternator and the prominence of synchronous tones.
which would link specific synchronous tones with localized
Figure 4 shows a typical measurement of the sound pres-
areas of the alternator and facilitate assessment of the in-
sure level from the alternator compared with the
fluence of different alternator geometries. It was found that
significantly-lower background noise levels of the anechoic
chamber, instruments, and drive motor. A typical order-
tracking measurement, with spectrum averaging, is shown
in Fig. 5~a!; the result exhibited synchronous as well as
asynchronous tones along with substantial broadband noise.
Figure 5~b! shows a measurement of the sound pressure
level obtained with time-domain averaging. Broadband and
asynchronous components were clearly suppressed by the
time-domain averaging process. The time-domain-
averaging method is ideally suited to the isolation of syn-
chronous tones and was used exclusively for the sound in-
tensity scans.
Sound pressure level measurements indicated that the
18th-order tone dominated the alternator’s noise spectrum;
see Figs. 5~a! and 5~b!. Because neither of the two fans had
18 blades, it was suggested that 18th-order noise was a
harmonic of a lower-order BPF or a rotor-stator interaction
tone. Referring to Fig. 1, the subject alternator rotor had a
9-bladed fan on the shaft end ~front!, a 10-bladed fan plus 2
exposed slip ring terminals on the rectifier end ~rear!, and 6
equally-spaced notches between rotor pole fingers on both
ends. Inspection of the stator revealed 18 well-defined,
equally-spaced holes in the front and rear stator windings, Fig. 5 – Order-tracking sound pressure spectra obtained by (a)
adjacent to the rotor notches, and a multitude of holes and spectrum and (b) time-domain averaging methods.

32 Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr

angular and axial scans of the radial active intensity com-
ponent provided sufficient intensity level variation for data
analysis. The magnitude of the tangential active intensity
components was small relative to the magnitude of the ra-
dial components, so the predominant direction of sound
power flow, in the selected measurement plane, was radi-
ally outward. Because the axial intensity components were
assumed to be negligible, they were not measured.
For the results of the intensity level scans presented
here, the axial and angular microphone probe positions
were the independent variables at a constant radial distance
of 152 mm. Angular variation of the radial intensity com-
ponent at the midpoint ~or zero reference! axial position is
shown in Fig. 6~a! for selected rotational orders. At the
205° angular position, Fig. 6~b! shows the axial variation of
the radial intensity component. At the 275 mm axial posi-
tion, the 9th-order data indicated an intensity level of 48
dB, in the inward direction. That data point was connected
to adjacent data points by a broken line to emphasize the
fact that its direction had shifted by 180°.
Fig. 6 – Angular and axial variations of the radial component of
active intensity level for selected rotational orders: (a)
angular variation with R 5152 mm and Z 50.0 mm; (b)
axial variation with R 5152 mm and u5205°. The mea-
sured rotational-order tones in these figures are the 6th,
9th, 10th, 12th, and 18th orders.
Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr
Three additional sound intensity scans were measured
around a modified alternator. For the first modification, the
front-end 9-bladed fan was removed. For the second modi-
fication, the same rotor was altered further by filling and
smoothing the rotor notches. Figure 7 presents the 18th, 9th
and 6th-order intensity levels for these modifications and
for the unmodified unit. A third modification, performed on
a separate alternator, consisted of filling and smoothing the
stator winding holes. Axial intensity scan results for the
18th-order tone only are presented in Fig. 8 for the third
modification and the unmodified alternator.
Fig. 7 – Axial variation of the radial component of active inten-
sity level for the (a) 18th-order, (b) 9th-order, and (c)
6th-order rotational tones. Data shown for three con-
figurations of the alternator: (a) unmodified standard
unit; (b) standard unit without the 9-bladed fan; (c) stan-
dard unit without the 9-bladed fan and with the rotor
notches filled and smoothed. The measurement point was
at R 5152 mm and u5205°.
33

Fig. 8 – Axial variation of the radial component of the 18th-order
active intensity level for two alternator configurations:
(a) unmodified standard unit; (b) standard unit with sta-
tor winding holes filled and smoothed. The measurement
point was at R 5152 mm and u5205°.
4. DISCUSSION OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Results of sound intensity scans as a function of angular
position around the alternator provided little information
about sources of ventilation-induced synchronous tones. In
Fig. 6~a!, the 18th-order tone was clearly the most promi-
nent order with very little intensity-level variation with an-
gular position. Lower rotational orders showed some indi-
cation of lobed response patterns, but no definite link
between alternator geometry and tone generation was evi-
dent. There was reasonable concern that reflections from
the apparatus may have been the cause of some of the an-
gular variation. Thus, the axial intensity-level scans were
performed at an angular position where interfering reflec-
tions were less likely. These measurements provided con-
siderable insight into the rotor and stator features respon-
sible for synchronous tone generation.
In Fig. 6~b!, the 6th, 10th, and 18th-order intensity levels
were evenly distributed along the length of the alternator.
For the 9th and 12th-order tones, a distinct intensity level
variation was an indicator of front and rear fan blade-
passage-frequency sound. The similarity of the 6th and
18th order curves suggested that 18th-order intensity levels
were more influenced by the 6 rotor notches than by the
9-bladed fan.
Intensity scans conducted with modified rotor and stator
configurations reinforced these conclusions. Figure 7~b!
shows that, without the 9-bladed fan, the 9th-order intensity
level dropped significantly; however, in Fig. 7~a!, the 18th-
order intensity level dropped only slightly at the end of the
alternator where the fan was removed. This result con-
firmed that the 9th-order tone was clearly a BPF and that its
second harmonic was not the cause of the 18th-order tone.
At the axial midpoint measurement position, the rotor with-
out the 9-bladed fan produced only a 1.6 dB drop in 18th-
order intensity level, with a corresponding 27.2 dB reduc-
tion in 9th-order intensity level.
By filling in the rotor notches on the rotor without the
q-bladed fan, significant noise reductions were observed in
6th and 18th-order tones. As shown in Figs. 7~a! and 7~c!,
this modification yielded 12.1 and 14.5 dB reductions in
34 Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr
axial midpoint intensity level of the 6th and 18th orders,
respectively, relative to the intensity level of the unmodi-
fied alternator. A definite correlation was thus established
between the 6 rotor notches and the 18th-order tone. The
filling of the stator winding holes confirmed this relation-
ship. As shown in Fig. 8, filling in the stator winding holes
produced a 14.9 dB decrease in the 18th-order intensity
level at the reference axial midpoint position; this reduction
was essentially the same as that obtained by filling in the
rotor notches. These observations supported the conclusion
that rotor-stator interaction was the primary source mecha-
nism for the 18th-order synchronous tone.
5. INTERACTION TONE ANALYSIS
The demonstrated relationship between rotor notches
and stator winding holes supported the development of an
analytical model based on interaction tone theory. Tones are
the result of impulsive interaction events which occur each
time a rotor discontinuity ~blade! moves past a stator ob-
struction ~vane!. Multiple stator obstructions form an array
of sound sources with the potential for multi-lobed direc-
tivity patterns. Relative array element phasing, a function
of vane position, determines a set of rotating sound pres-
sure fields which are commonly referred to as spinning
modes.7
Because spinning mode disturbances are periodic with
respect to time and angular position, a theoretical expres-
sion can be developed based on a time and space Fourier
decomposition of the sound field.3 For a set of stator vanes
at circumferential locations u1 ,u2 ,...,uq , spinning modes are
described by
p mn ~ u ,t ! 5A mn C q cos@ m u 2nVt1 f mn # , ~3!
where p mn ( u ,t! is the instantaneous sound pressure, in pas-
cals, at angular position u, in radians, and time t, in sec-
onds, produced by spinning mode m for rotational order n,
with 2`<m<1` and 0,n<1`; and q is the number of
vanes. A mn is a relative sound-pressure amplitude coeffi-
cient in pascals, f mn is the relative phase between the
modes in radians, and V is the angular rotational speed of
the alternator shaft in radians per second.
The spinning-mode factor C q was determined from
F( G F( G
q
2
q
2
C 2q 5 cos~ m2n ! u i 1 sin~ m2n ! u i .
i51 i51
Equation ~3! describes a rotating waveform. The angular
rotation rate, in radians per second, of each mode is given
by
u̇ mn 5nV/m5 ~ 2 p n/m ! N. ~4!
The direction of rotation for each mode is indicated by the
sign of m. For a given rotational order number n and alter-
nator shaft rotational speed N, the frequency of the syn-
chronous tone f nV , in hertz, is given by
f nV 5nN. ~5!
A modal tip rotational speed c tip , in metres per second,
can be computed for a rotor of radius R r by the expression
 c tip5R r u̇ mn . ~6!
According to spinning mode theory, a given mode will
propagate efficiently if c tip is sonic or supersonic; otherwise
the modal sound pressure will decay exponentially.3,7,8
When m50, the mode is non-rotating and always propa-
gates. By combining Eqs. ~4!, ~5!, and ~6!, and setting the
tip speed equal to the speed of sound in the ambient air, the
threshold frequencies and rotational speed for rotating
mode propagation can be determined.
For the alternator, with a rotor tip radius of approxi-
mately 60 mm, propagation of spinning mode sound pres-
sure was expected when the threshold tone frequency sat-
isfied f nV >910 m, and the rotational speed, in rpm, was
equal to, or greater than ~54,590!m/n. This relationship is
depicted in Fig. 9. As rotational speed is increased, tonal
frequencies and the number of propagating modes also in-
crease. For the 18th-order tone, the ‘‘cut on’’ shaft speeds
were integer multiples of 3033 rpm.
Theoretical expressions, such as Eq. ~3!, indicated which
m and n values would be prominent for a set of stator vane
positions. The limitation to this approach is that is does not
indicate which orders will be generated by a specific rotor
and stator combination. A new technique is presented here
by which interaction tones can be predicted. The first step is
to consider each interaction event as an independent, in-
stantaneous pressure disturbance. At any instant, the ampli-
tude of all sound sources combined is proportional to the
number of disturbances occurring at that time. Assuming
that each interaction event produces the same disturbance
amplitude and also assuming a fixed shaft rotational speed,
a discrete time sequence representing the sound source
waveform can be constructed by indexing the rotor and
Fig. 9 – Computed spinning-mode cut-on speeds for a rotor tip
radius of 60 mm.
Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr
counting the number of rotor discontinuities in alignment
with stator obstructions.
The sound source disturbance waveform can be esti-
mated efficiently by defining the rotor and stator geometry
as periodic functions, with respect to angular position, and
computing the cross-correlation function. The cross-
correlation function R xy between two periodic signals x~u!
and y~u! is defined by
R xy ~ D ! 5E @ x ~ u ! y ~ u 1D !# , ~7!
where D is an arbitrary position variable and E@ # denotes
the expected value of the term within the brackets.9 Rotor
and stator geometric pattern functions ~indicator functions!
were defined as follows: at angular positions where no rotor
discontinuity or stator obstruction existed, the indicator am-
plitude function was assigned a value zero; at positions
where a rotor or stator feature existed, the function was
assigned a value of unity. Computing the cross-correlation
function between such functions is equivalent to the index
and sum method noted above, normalized by the number of
samples in the expected value operation.
The correlation function between the two periodic sig-
nals is related to the cross-spectral density function G xy (r)
of the interaction waveform by a Fourier transform accord-
ing to
G xy ~ r ! 52 E 2`
1`
R xy ~ D ! e 2 jrD dD, ~8!
where r is the rotational order as in Eq. ~2!, but without
interpolation.
The cross-spectral density function also may be com-
puted directly from the complex time-invariant ~non-
random! geometric pattern functions ~or indicator func-
tions! according to
G xy ~ r ! 5 ~ 2/T !@ X * ~ r ! Y ~ r !# , ~9!
where T is the duration of the finite record over which the
indicator pattern functions were measured, X(r) and Y (r)
are the fast Fourier Transforms of the pattern functions,9
and the asterisk denotes the complex conjugate.
6. ANALYTICAL MODEL IMPLEMENTATION
The prediction scheme described above was imple-
mented for all likely interaction combinations in the subject
alternator. Results of a typical computation are shown in
Fig. 10. Rotor and stator geometric pattern functions were
discretized for 256 angular positions. Indicator function
values were assigned as described above. The fast Fourier
transform was computed for both functions and the ampli-
tude of the cross spectral density was calculated from the
product of the two complex spectra. The FFT output bin
numbers corresponded directly to orders of shaft rotation
frequency. Amplitudes were considered to represent the
relative sound pressure of the source.
Because it was assumed that each interaction event pro-
duced the same disturbance amplitude, the overall source
strength was estimated by superposition. Estimates were
based solely on relative geometry without considering aero-
dynamic and acoustic radiation factors that could vary the
35
 TABLE 2 – Analytical and experimental results for the 18th-order syn-
chronous tone. Measurement location: Z50, R5152 mm,
u5205°.

Predicted Measured
Alternator relative sound relative sound
rotor-stator pressure level intensity level
configuration ~dB! ~dB!

Standard 0 0
No front fan 22.5 21.6
No front fan and 218.3 214.5
no rotor notches
No winding holes 217.1 214.9

Note–The 0-dB reference relative sound pressure level for the standard
alternator corresponds to the total relative sound pressure level in Table 1.

modifications, the trends indicated by the changes in pre-

dicted sound pressure levels agreed with the trends indi-
cated by the changes in the measured sound intensity
levels.

7. CONCLUSIONS
Fig. 10 – Analytical representation of the relative values of typi-
cal circumferentially-varying rotating and stationary Automotive alternators generate aerodynamically-
geometric features of an alternator, and the spatial induced noise which can dominate the spectrum of the
cross spectrum between them which indicates the domi- sound produced by the alternator. For the generic alternator
nant orders of sound generation. Geometric pattern reported upon here, broadband noise and asynchronous
indicator-function amplitudes are shown (a) for the 6 tones generated by ventilation airflow were insignificant
rotor notches and (b) for the 18 holes in the stator compared with the synchronous tones caused by aerody-
windings. The rotor/stator interaction amplitude distri- namic interaction mechanisms. The highest amplitude syn-
bution (c) shows the dominance of the 18th-order tone. chronous tone occurred at 18 times the shaft rotational fre-
quency. This attribute appeared to be independent of
microphone position. Measured and predicted sound pres-
actual contribution of each source at a specific point in the sure levels indicated that 18th-order noise was primarily
sound field. Predicted 18th-order relative interaction ampli- caused by rotor-stator interaction. This sound source
tudes in Table 1 showed that rotor notch interactions with mechanism was most pronounced for the combination of 6
stator winding holes were much more prominent than all rotor notches and 18 holes in the stator windings. Rotor
other combinations. Total relative interaction sound pres- blade-passage harmonics, generated by a 9-bladed fan and
sure levels, predicted for the three modifications evaluated 6 rotor notches, were secondary contributors to the level of
by axial intensity scans, are shown in Table 2 along with the 18th-order tone.
measured changes in sound intensity levels. For all three Fourier analysis of rotor and stator geometry is an effec-
tive means of predicting prominent interaction tones and
identifying the components which generate them. This ana-
TABLE 1 – Results of the rotor-stator interaction analysis of the 18th lytical tool is useful for evaluating geometric modifications
order synchronous tone for the standard, unmodified and different alternator types. The method can also be used
alternator. to predict the generation of interaction tones for rotor-stator
18th order relative
combinations with irregular or asymmetric spacing. Pre-
Rotating feature Fixed stator feature interaction amplitude dicted relative sound pressure levels, based on rotor and
stator modifications, indicated trends similar to measured
Front fan Housing slots 0.08 changes in sound intensity level.
Front fan End cap holes ~outer! 0.89
The use of synchronous time averaging in active inten-
Front fan End cap holes ~middle! 0.67
Front fan Winding holes 1.79 sity measurements was exploited in this study and proved
Rear fan Housing slots 0.28 to be a useful diagnostic tool for identifying synchronous
Rear fan Winding holes 1.40 ventilation-induced tones. With the knowledge gained
Rotor notches ~front! Winding holes 4.33 through use of the experimental and analytical procedures
Rotor notches ~rear! Winding holes 4.33 presented here, noise control methods, such as those docu-
Total interaction amplitude 13.8 mented in the literature,10–14 can be applied to an alterna-
Total relative sound pressure level ~dB! 0 tor’s geometric features that are identified as dominant
noise sources.

36 Noise Control Eng. J. 43 (2), 1995 Mar–Apr

8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was conducted at the Applied Research Labo-
ratory of Pennsylvania State University under contract with
the Ford Motor Company. The authors are grateful for the
support provided by these organizations.
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