CHP 21

Chapter 21.
Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise
The discipline of acoustics, which is a study of pressure waves in fluids, is intimately

related to fluid dynamics. Many sounds that are technologically important in industrial
applications are generated by and propagated in fluid flows. The phenomena associ-
ated with sounds can therefore be understood and analyzed in the general framework of
fluid dynamics. The governing equations for acoustics are indeed the same as the ones
governing fluid flows.
The main challenge in numerically predicting sound waves stems from the well-recognized
fact that sounds have much lower energy than fluid flows, typically by several orders of
magnitude. This poses a great challenge to the computation of sounds in terms of diffi-
culty of numerically resolving sound waves, especially when one is interested in predicting
sound propagation to the far-field. Another challenge comes from the difficulty of pre-
dicting the very flow phenomena (e.g., turbulence) in the near field that are responsible
for generating sounds.
This chapter provides an overview of FLUENT’s approaches to computing aerodynami-
cally generated sound, the underlying theories, the model setup, and the procedure for
computing sound.
• Section 21.1: Overview
• Section 21.2: Acoustics Model Theory
• Section 21.3: Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model
• Section 21.4: Using the Broadband Noise Source Models
21.1 Overview
Considering the breadth of the discipline and the challenges encountered in comput-
ing sounds, it is not surprising that a number of computational approaches have been
proposed over the years whose sophistication, applicability, and cost widely vary.
FLUENT offers three approaches to computing sounds, a direct method, an integral
method based on acoustic analogy, and a broadband-noise-source-models method.

c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005 21-1
21.1.1 Direct Method

In this method, both generation and propagation of sound waves are directly computed
by solving the appropriate fluid dynamics equations. Prediction of sound waves always
requires time-accurate solutions to the governing equations. Furthermore, in most prac-
tical applications of the direct method, one has to employ governing equations that are
capable of modeling viscous and turbulence effects, such as unsteady Navier-Stokes equa-
tions (i.e., DNS), RANS equations, and filtered equations used in DES and LES.
The direct method is thus computationally difficult and expensive inasmuch as it requires
highly accurate numerics, very fine computational meshes all the way to receivers, and
acoustically non-reflecting boundary conditions. The computational cost becomes pro-
hibitive when sound is to be predicted in the far-field (e.g., hundreds of chord-lengths in
the case of an airfoil). The direct method becomes feasible when receivers are in the near
field (e.g., cabin noise). In many such situations involving near-field sound, sounds (or
pseudo-sounds for that matter) are predominantly due to local hydrodynamic pressure
which can be predicted with a reasonable cost and accuracy.
Since sound propagation is directly resolved in this method, one normally needs to solve
the compressible form of the governing equations (e.g., compressible RANS equations,
compressible form of filtered equations for LES). Only in situations where the flow is low
subsonic and the receivers in the near field sense primarily local hydrodynamic pressure
fluctuations (i.e., pseudo sound) can incompressible flow formulations be used. But
this incompressible treatment will also not allow to simulate resonance and feedback
phenomena.
21.1.2 Integral Method Based on Acoustic Analogy

For predictions of mid- to far-field noise, the methods based on Lighthill’s acoustic anal-
ogy [196] offer viable alternatives to the direct method. In this approach, the near-field
flow obtained from appropriate governing equations such as unsteady RANS equations,
DES, or LES are used to predict the sound with the aid of analytically derived integral
solutions to wave equations. The acoustic analogy essentially decouples the propagation
of sound from its generation, allowing one to separate the flow solution process from the
acoustics analysis.
FLUENT offers a method based on the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation
and its integral solutions [97]. The FW-H formulation adopts the most general form
of Lighthill’s acoustic analogy, and is capable of predicting sound generated by equiv-
alent acoustic sources such as monopoles, dipoles, and quadrupoles. FLUENT adopts a
time-domain integral formulation wherein time histories of sound pressure, or acoustic
signals, at prescribed receiver locations are directly computed by evaluating a few surface
integrals.
Time-accurate solutions of the flow-field variables, such as pressure, velocity components,
and density on source (emission) surfaces, are required to evaluate the surface integrals.
21-2
c Fluent Inc. January 11, 2005
21.1 Overview
Time-accurate solutions can be obtained from unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes

(URANS) equations, large eddy simulation (LES), or detached eddy simulation (DES) as
appropriate for the flow at hand and the features that you want to capture (e.g., vortex
shedding). The source surfaces can be placed not only on impermeable walls, but also on
interior (permeable) surfaces, which enables you to account for the contributions from
the quadrupoles enclosed by the source surfaces. Both broadband and tonal noise can be
predicted depending on the nature of the flow (noise source) being considered, turbulence
model employed, and the time-scale of the flow resolved in the flow calculation.
The FW-H acoustics model in FLUENT allows you to select multiple source surfaces and
receivers. It also permits you either to save the source data for a future use, or to carry
out an “on-the-fly” acoustic calculation simultaneously as the transient flow calculation
proceeds, or both. Sound pressure signals thus obtained can be processed using the fast
Fourier transform (FFT) and associated post-processing capabilities to compute and plot
such acoustic quantities as the overall sound pressure level (SPL) and power spectra.
One important limitation of FLUENT’s FW-H model is that it is applicable only to
predicting the propagation of sound toward free space. Thus, while the model can be
legitimately used to predict far-field noise due to external aerodynamic flows, such as
the flows around ground-vehicles and aircrafts, it cannot be used for predicting the noise
propagation inside ducts or wall-enclosed space.
21.1.3 Broadband Noise Source Models

In many practical applications involving turbulent flows, noise does not have any distinct
tones, and the sound energy is continuously distributed over a broad range of frequencies.
In those situations involving broadband noise, statistical turbulence quantities readily
computable from RANS equations can be utilized, in conjunction with semi-empirical
correlations and Lighthill’s acoustic analogy, to shed some light on the source of broad-
band noise.
FLUENT offers several such source models that enable you to quantify the local contribu-
tion (per unit surface are or volume) to the total acoustic power generated by the flow.
They are:
• Proudman’s formula
• Jet noise source model
• Boundary layer noise source model
• Source terms in the linearized Euler equations
• Source terms in Lilley’s equation

Considering that one would ultimately want to come up with some measures to mitigate
the noise generated by the flow in question, the source models can be employed to extract
useful diagnostics on the noise source to determine which portion of the flow is primarily
responsible for the noise generation. Note, however, that these source models do not
predict the sound at receivers.
Unlike the direct method and the FW-H integral method, the broadband-noise-source
models do not require transient solutions to any governing fluid dynamics equations. All
the source models need are what typical RANS models would provide, such as the mean
velocity field, turbulent kinetic energy (k) and the dissipation rate (ε). Therefore, the
use of broadband-source models requires the least computational resources.
21.2 Acoustics Model Theory

This section describes the theoretical background for the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings
model and the broadband noise source models.
21.2.1 The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Model

The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation is essentially an inhomogeneous
wave equation that can be derived by manipulating the continuity equation and the
Navier-Stokes equations. The FW-H [39, 97] equation can be written as:
1 ∂ 2 p0 2 0 ∂2
− ∇ p = {Tij H(f )}
a20 ∂t2 ∂xi ∂xj
∂
− {[Pij nj + ρui (un − vn )] δ(f )}
∂xi
∂
+ {[ρ0 vn + ρ (un − vn )] δ(f )} (21.2-1)
∂t
where
ui = fluid velocity component in the xi direction
un = fluid velocity component normal to the surface f = 0
vi = surface velocity components in the xi direction
vn = surface velocity component normal to the surface
δ(f ) = Dirac delta function
H(f ) = Heaviside function
p0 is the sound pressure at the far field (p0 = p − p0 ). f = 0 denotes a mathematical
surface introduced to “embed” the exterior flow problem (f > 0) in an unbounded space,
which facilitates the use of generalized function theory and the free-space Green function
to obtain the solution. The surface (f = 0) corresponds to the source (emission) surface,
and can be made coincident with a body (impermeable) surface or a permeable surface
21-4
off the body surface. ni is the unit normal vector pointing toward the exterior region
(f > 0), a0 is the far-field sound speed, and Tij is the Lighthill stress tensor, defined as
Tij = ρui uj + Pij − a20 (ρ − ρ0 ) δij (21.2-2)
Pij is the compressive stress tensor. For a Stokesian fluid, this is given by
" #
∂ui ∂uj 2 ∂uk
Pij = pδij − µ + − δij (21.2-3)
∂xj ∂xi 3 ∂xk
The free-stream quantities are denoted by the subscript 0.

The solution to Equation 21.2-1 is obtained using the free-space Green function (δ(g)/4πr).
The complete solution consists of surface integrals and volume integrals. The surface inte-
grals represent the contributions from monopole and dipole acoustic sources and partially
from quadrupole sources, whereas the volume integrals represent quadrupole (volume)
sources in the region outside the source surface. The contribution of the volume integrals
becomes small when the flow is low-subsonic and the source surface encloses the source
region. In FLUENT, the volume integrals are dropped. Thus, we have
p0 (~x, t) = p0T (~x, t) + p0L (~x, t) (21.2-4)
where

ρ0 U˙n + Uṅ

Z
4πp0T (~x, t) =   dS
f =0 r (1 − Mr )2
 n o
Z ρ0 Un rṀr + a0 (Mr − M 2 )
+   dS (21.2-5)
f =0 r2 (1 − Mr )3
" #
1 Z L̇r
4πp0L (~x, t) = dS
a0 f =0 r (1 − Mr )2
" #
Z
Lr − L M
+ dS
f =0 r (1 − Mr )2
2
 n o
1 Z Lr rṀr + a0 (Mr − M 2 )
+   dS (21.2-6)
a0 f =0 r2 (1 − Mr )3

where
ρ
Ui = v i + (ui − vi ) (21.2-7)
ρ0
Li = Pij n̂j + ρui (un − vn ) (21.2-8)
When the integration surface coincides with an impenetrable wall, the two terms on the
right in Equation 21.2-4, p0T (~x, t) and p0L (~x, t), are often referred to as thickness and
loading terms, respectively, in light of their physical meanings. The square brackets in
Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6 denote that the kernels of the integrals are computed at the
corresponding retarded times, τ , defined as follows, given the observer time, t, and the
distance to the observer, r,
r
τ =t− (21.2-9)
a0
The various subscripted quantities appearing in Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6 are the
inner products of a vector and a unit vector implied by the subscript. For instance,
Lr = L~ · ~ˆr = Li ri and Un = U~ · ~n = Ui ni , where ~r and ~n denote the unit vectors in
the radiation and wall-normal directions, respectively. The dot over a variable denotes
source-time differentiation of that variable.
Please note the following remarks regarding the applicability of this integral solution:
• The FW-H formulation in FLUENT can handle rotating surfaces as well as station-
ary surfaces.
• It is not required that the surface f = 0 coincide with body surfaces or walls. The
formulation permits source surfaces to be permeable, and therefore can be placed
in the interior of the flow.
• When a permeable source surface (either interior or non-conformal sliding interface)

is placed at a certain distance off the body surface, the integral solutions given by
Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6 include the contributions from the quadrupole sources
within the region enclosed by the source surface. When using a permeable source
surface, the mesh resolution needs to be fine enough to resolve the transient flow
structures inside the volume enclosed by the permeable surface.
21-6
21.2.2 Broadband Noise Source Models

Proudman’s formula
Proudman [269], using Lighthill’s acoustic analogy, derived a formula for acoustic power
generated by isotropic turbulence without mean flow. More recently, Lilley [197] re-
derived the formula by accounting for the retarded time difference which was neglected
in Proudman’s original derivation. Both derivations yield acoustic power due to unit
volume of isotropic turbulence (in W/m3 ) as
u3 u5
!
PA = αρ0 (21.2-10)
` a50
where u and ` are the turbulence velocity and length scales, respectively, and a0 is
the speed of sound. α in Equation 21.2-10 is a model constant. In terms of k and ε,
Equation 21.2-10 can be rewritten as
PA = αε ρ0 εMt5 (21.2-11)
where
√
2k
Mt = (21.2-12)
a0
(21.2-13)
The re-scaled constant, α , is set to 0.1 in FLUENT based on the calibration of Sarkar
and Hussaini [292] using direct numerical simulation of isotropic turbulence.
FLUENT can also report the acoustic power in dB, which is computed from
PA

LP = 10 log (21.2-14)
Pref
where Pref is the reference acoustic power (Pref = 10−12 W/m3 by default).
The Proudman’s formula gives an approximate measure of the local contribution to total
acoustic power per unit volume in a given turbulence field. Proper caution, however,
should be taken when interpreting the results in view of the assumptions made in the
derivation, such as high Reynolds number, small Mach number, isotropy of turbulence,
and zero mean motion.

Jet noise source model

This source model for axisymmetric jets is based on the works of Goldstein [116] who
modified the model originally proposed by Ribner [281] to better account for anisotropy
of turbulence in axisymmetric turbulent jets.
In Goldstein’s model, the total acoustic power emitted by the unit volume of a turbulent
jet is computed from
Z 2π Z π
PA (~y ) = I(r, θ; ~y )r2 sin θdθ dψ
0
Z0 π
2
= 2πr I(r, θ; ~y ) sin θ dθ (21.2-15)
0
where r and θ are the radial and angular coordinates of the receiver location, and I(r, θ; ~y )
is the directional acoustic intensity per unit volume of a jet defined by
2 !2
12 ρ0 ωf4 L1 L22 u2t1 Dself 24 ρ0 ωf4 L1 L42 u2t1 ∂U Dshear
I(r, θ; ~y ) = + (21.2-16)
5 π a50 r2 C5 π a50 r2 ∂r C5
C in Equation 21.2-16 is the modified convection factor defined by
C = 1 − Mc cos θ (21.2-17)
and
M
Dself = 1 + 2( − N ) cos2 θ sin2 θ (21.2-18)
9
1 M2 1.5 ∆2
" #
+ + M − 1.5N (3 − 3N + 2 − ) sin4 θ (21.2-19)
3 7 ∆ 2
1 1

2 2 2
Dshear = cos θ cos θ + − 2N sin θ (21.2-20)
2 ∆2
The remaining parameters are defined as
L2
∆ = (21.2-21)
L1
3 1 2

M = ∆− (21.2-22)
2 ∆
u2t2
N = 1− (21.2-23)
u2t1
21-8
3/2
u2t1
L1 = (21.2-24)

3/2
u2t2
L2 = (21.2-25)

ωf = 2π (21.2-26)
k
where u2t1 and u2t2 are computed differently depending on the turbulence model chosen for
the computation. When the RSM is selected, they are computed from the corresponding
normal stresses. For all other two-equation turbulence models, they are obtained from
8
u2t1 = k (21.2-27)
9
4
u2t2 = k (21.2-28)
9
(21.2-29)
FLUENT reports the acoustic power both in the dimensional units (W/m3 ) and in dB
computed from
PA

LP = 10 log (21.2-30)
Pref
where Pref is the reference acoustic power (Pref = 10−12 W/m3 by default).
Boundary layer noise source model

Far-field sound generated by turbulent boundary layer flow over a solid body at low
Mach numbers is often of practical interest. The Curle’s integral [64] based on acoustic
analogy can be used to approximate the local contribution from the body surface to the
total acoustic power. To that end, one can start with the Curle’s integral
1 Z (xi − yi ) ni ∂p
0
p (~x, t) = (~y , τ ) dS(~y ) (21.2-31)
4πa0 S r2 ∂t
where τ denotes the emission time (τ = t − r/a0 ), and S the integration surface.
Using this, the sound intensity in the far field can then be approximated by
#2
2
"
1 Z
cos θ ∂p
p02 ≈ (~y , τ ) Ac (~y ) dS(~y ) (21.2-32)
16π 2 a20 S r2 ∂t
where Ac is the correlation area, r ≡ |~x − ~y |, and cos θ is the angle between |~x − ~y | and
the wall-normal direction ~n.

The total acoustic power emitted from the entire body surface can be computed from
1 Z 2π Z π 02 2
PA = p r sin θ dθdψ
ρ 0 a0 0 0
Z
= I(~y ) dS(~y ) (21.2-33)
S
where " #2
Ac (~y ) ∂p
I(~y ) ≡ (21.2-34)
12ρ0 πa30 ∂t
which can be interpreted as the local contribution per unit surface area of the body surface
to the total acoustic power. The mean-square time-derivative of the surface pressure
and the correlation area are further approximated in terms of turbulent quantities like
turbulent kinetic energy, dissipation rate, and wall-shear.
FLUENT reports the acoustic surface power defined by Equation 21.2-34 both in physical
(W/m2 ) and dB units.
Source Terms in the Linearized Euler Equations

The linearized Euler equations (LEE) can be derived from the Navier-Stokes equations
starting from decompositions of the flow variables into mean, turbulent, and acoustic
components, and by assuming that the acoustic components are much smaller than the
mean and turbulent components. The resulting linearized Euler equations for the acoustic
velocity components can be written as
∂uai ∂uai ∂Ui 1 ∂pa ρa ∂P

+ Uj + uaj + − 2 =
∂t ∂xj ∂xj ρ ∂xi ρ ∂xi
∂u0i ∂Ui ∂u0 1 ∂p0 ∂u0 ∂ 0 0
−Uj − u0j − u0j i − − i+ uu (21.2-35)
∂xj ∂xj ∂xj ρ ∂xi ∂t ∂xj j i
| {z } | {z }
Lsh Lse
where the subscript “a” refers to the corresponding acoustic components, and the prime
superscript refers to the turbulent components.
The right-hand side of Equation 21.2-35 can be considered as effective source terms
responsible for sound generation. Among them, the first three terms involving turbulence
are the main contributors. The first two terms denoted by Lsh are often referred to as
”shear-noise” source terms, since they involve the mean shear. The third term denoted
by Lse is often called the ”self-noise” source term, for it involves turbulent velocity
components only.
The turbulent velocity field needed to compute the LEE source terms is obtained using
the method of stochastic noise generation and radiation (SNGR) [26]. In this method,
21-10
the turbulent velocity field and its derivatives are computed from a sum of N Fourier
modes.
N
ũn cos ~kn · ~x + ψn ~σn
X
~u (~x, t) = 2 (21.2-36)
n=1
where ũn , ψn , ~σn are the amplitude, phase, and directional (unit) vector of the n-th
Fourier mode associated with the wave-number vector ~kn .
Note that the source terms in the LEE are vector quantities, having two or three com-
ponents depending on the dimension of the problem at hand.
Source Terms in Lilley’s Equation

Lilley’s equation is a third-order wave equation that can be derived by combining the
conservation of mass and momentum of compressible fluids. When the viscous terms are
omitted, it can be written in the following form:
D D2 Π
" !# !
∂ 2∂Π ∂uk ∂ ∂Π ∂uk ∂uj ∂ui
2
− a +2 a2 = −2 (21.2-37)
Dt Dt ∂xj ∂xj ∂xj ∂xk ∂xj ∂xi ∂xk ∂xj
where Π = (1/γ) ln ppo .

Lilley’s equation can be linearized about the underlying steady flow as
ui (~x, t) = Ui (~x) + u0i (~x, t) (21.2-38)

where u0 (~x, t) is the turbulent velocity component.
Substituting Equation 21.2-38 into the source term of Equation 21.2-37, we have
∂uk ∂uj ∂ui
S ≡ −2
∂xi ∂xk ∂xj
∂Uk ∂Uj ∂Ui ∂u0k ∂u0j ∂u0i ∂Uk ∂Uj ∂u0i ∂u0k ∂u0j ∂Ui
= −2 −2 −6 −6 (21.2-39)
∂xi ∂xk ∂xj ∂xi ∂xk ∂xj ∂xi ∂xk ∂xj ∂xi ∂xk ∂xj
| {z } | {z }
Self-Noise terms Shear-Noise terms
The resulting source terms in Equation 21.2-39 are evaluated using the mean velocity field
and the turbulent (fluctuating) velocity components synthesized by the SNGR method.
As with the LEE source terms, the source terms in Equation 21.2-39 are grouped depend-
ing on whether the mean velocity gradients are involved (shear-noise or not self-noise),
and reported separately in FLUENT.

21.3 Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model

The procedure for computing sound using the FW-H acoustics model in FLUENT consists
largely of two steps. In the first step, a time-accurate flow solution is generated, from
which time histories of the relevant variables (e.g., pressure, velocity, and density) on the
selected source surfaces are obtained. In the second step, sound pressure signals at the
user-specified receiver locations are computed using the source data collected during the
first step.
Note that you can also use the FW-H model for a steady-state simulation
i in the case where your model has a single rotating reference frame. Here,
the loading noise due to the motion of the noise sources is computed using
the FW-H integrals (see Equations 21.2-5 and 21.2-6), except that the term
involving the time derivative of surface pressure (L̇r in Equation 21.2-6) is
set to zero.
In computing sound pressure using the FW-H integral solution, FLUENT uses a so-called
“forward-time projection” to account for the time-delay between the emission time (the
time at which the sound is emitted from the source) and the reception time (the time at
which the sound arrives at the receiver location). The forward-time projection approach
enables you to compute sound at the same time “on-the-fly” as the transient flow solution
progresses, without having to save the source data.
In this section, the procedure for setting up and using the FW-H acoustics model is
outlined first, followed by detailed descriptions of each of the steps involved. Remember
that only the steps that are pertinent to acoustics modeling are discussed here. For
information about the inputs related to other models that you are using in conjunction
with the FW-H acoustics model, see the appropriate sections for those models.
The general procedure for carrying out an FW-H acoustics calculation in FLUENT is as
follows:
1. Calculate a converged flow solution. For a transient case, run the transient solution
until you obtain a “statistically steady-state” solution as described below.
2. Enable the FW-H acoustics model and set the associated model parameters.
Define −→ Models −→Acoustics
3. Specify the source surface(s) and choose the options associated with acquisition
and saving of the source data. For a steady-state case, specify the rotating surface
zone(s) as the source surface(s).
4. Specify the receiver location(s).
5. Continue the transient solution for a sufficiently long period of time and save the
source data (transient cases only).
21-12
Solve −→Iterate...
6. Compute and save the sound pressure signals.

Solve −→Acoustic Signals
7. Postprocess the sound pressure signals.

Plot −→FFT...
Before you start the acoustics calculation for a transient case, a FLUENT
i transient solution should have been run to a point where the transient
flow-field has become “statistically steady”. In practice, this means that
the unsteady flow-field under consideration, including all the major flow
variables, has become fully developed in such a way that its statistics do
not change with time. Monitoring the major flow variables at selected
points in the domain is helpful for determining if this condition has been
met.
As discussed earlier, URANS, DES, and LES are all legitimate candidates for transient
flow calculations. For stationary source surfaces, the frequency of the aerodynamically
generated sound heard at the receivers is largely determined by the time scale or fre-
quency of the underlying flow. Therefore, one way to determine the time-step size for
the transient computation is to make it small enough to resolve the smallest character-
istic time scale of the flow at hand that can be reproduced by the mesh and turbulence
adopted in your model.
Once you have obtained a statistically stationary flow-field solution, you are ready to
acquire the source data.
21.3.1 Enabling the FW-H Acoustics Model

To enable the FW-H acoustics model, select Ffowcs-Williams & Hawkings in the Acoustics
Model panel (Figure 21.3.1).
Define −→ Models −→Acoustics...
When you turn on Ffowcs-Williams & Hawkings, the panel will expand to show the relevant
fields for user-inputs.

Figure 21.3.1: The Acoustics Model Panel
Setting Model Constants

Under Model Constants in the Acoustics Model panel, specify the relevant acoustic pa-
rameters and constants used by the model.
Far-Field Density (for example, ρ0 in Equation 21.2-1) is the far-field fluid density.
Far-Field Sound√Speed (for example, a0 in Equation 21.2-1) is the sound speed in the
far field (= γRT0 ).
Reference Acoustic Pressure (for example, pref in Equation 29.10-11) is used to calcu-
late the sound pressure level in dB (see Section 29.10.4: Using the FFT Utility).
The default reference acoustic pressure is 2 × 10−5 Pa.
Number of Time Steps Per Revolution is available only for steady-state cases that have
a single rotating reference frame. Here you will specify the number of equivalent
time steps that it will take for the rotating zone to complete one revolution.
Number of Revolutions is available only for steady-state cases that have a single rotat-
ing reference frame. Here you will specify the number of revolutions that will be
simulated in the model.
Source Correlation Length is required when sound is to be computed using a 2D flow

result. The FW-H integrals will be evaluated over this length in the depth-wise
direction using the identical source data.
The default values are appropriate for sound propagating in air at atmospheric pressure
and temperature.
21-14
Computing Sound “On-the-Fly”

The FW-H acoustics model in FLUENT allows you to perform simultaneous calculation
of the sound pressure signals at the prescribed receivers without having to write the
source data to files, which can save a significant amount of disk space on your machine.
To enable this “on-the-fly” calculation of sound, turn on the Compute Acoustic Signals
Simultaneously option in the Acoustics Model panel.
Because the noise computation takes a negligible percentage of memory and

i computational time compared to a transient flow calculation, this option
can be used by itself or along with the process of source data file export
and sound calculation. For the latter, computing signals “on the fly” allows
you to see when the signals have become statistically steady so you can
know when to stop the simulation.
When the Compute Acoustic Signals Simultaneously option is enabled, the FLUENT console
window will print a message at the end of each time step indicating that the sound
pressure signals have been computed (e.g., Computing sound signals at x receiver
locations ..., where x is the number of receivers you specified). Enabling this option
instructs FLUENT to compute sound pressure signals at the end of each time step, which
will slightly increase the computation time.
Note that this option is available only when the FW-H acoustics model has
i been enabled. See below for details about exporting source data without
enabling the FW-H model.
Writing Source Data Files

Although the “on-the-fly” capability is a convenient feature, you will want to save the
source data as well, because the acquisition of source data during a transient flow-field
calculation is the most time-consuming part of acoustics computations, and you most
likely will not want to discard it. By saving the source data, you can always reuse it to
compute the sound pressure signals at new or additional receiver locations.
To enable saving the source data to files, turn on the Export Acoustic Source Data option
in the Acoustics Model panel. Once this option is selected, the relevant source data at
all face elements of the selected source surfaces will be written into the files you specify.
The source data vary depending on the solver option you have chosen and whether the
source surface is a wall or not. Table 21.3.1 shows the flow variables saved as the source
data.
See Section 21.3.2: Specifying Source Surfaces for details on how to specify parameters
for exporting source data.

Table 21.3.1: Source Data Saved in Source Data Files
Solver Option Source Surface Source data

incompressible walls p
incompressible permeable surfaces p, u, v, w
compressible walls p
compressible permeable surfaces ρ, p, u, v, w
Exporting Source Data Without Enabling the FW-H Model
You can also export sound source data for use with SYSNOISE without having to enable
the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) model. You will still need to specify source
surfaces (see Section 21.3.2: Specifying Source Surfaces), as .index and .asd files are
required by SYSNOISE. In addition, you can choose fluid zones as emission sources if
you want to export quadrupole sources. To enable the selection of fluid zones as sources,
use the
define −→ models −→ acoustics −→export-volumetric-sources?
text command and change the selection to yes.
SYSNOISE also requires centroid data for source zones that are being exported. Once
you have specified the source zones in the Acoustic Sources panel (Figure 21.3.2), you can
export the centroid data to a .data file by using the
define −→ models −→
acoustics −→write-centroid-info
text command.
Since you will not be using the FW-H model to compute signals, you will not need to
specify any acoustic model parameters or receiver locations. Also, you will not be able to
turn on the Compute Acoustic Signals Simultaneously option in the Acoustics Model panel,
and Acoustic Signals... will not be available in the Solve menu.
21.3.2 Specifying Source Surfaces

In the Acoustics Model panel, click the Sources... button to open the Acoustic Sources
panel (Figure 21.3.2). Here you will specify the source surface(s) to be used in the
acoustics calculation and the inputs associated with saving source data to files.
Under Source Zones, you can select multiple emission (source) surfaces and the surface
Type that you can select is not limited to a wall. You can also choose interior surfaces
and sliding interfaces (both stationary and rotating) as source surfaces.
21-16
Figure 21.3.2: The Acoustic Sources Panel
The ability to choose multiple source surfaces is useful for investigating the
i contributions from individual source surfaces. The results based on the use
of multiple source surfaces are valid as long as there are negligible acoustic
interactions among the surfaces. Thus, some caution needs to be taken
when selecting multiple source surfaces.
In cases where multiple source surfaces are selected, no source surface may enclose any
of the other source surfaces. Otherwise, the sound pressure calculated based on the
source surfaces will not be accurate, as the contribution from the enclosed (inner) source
surfaces is over predicted, since the FW-H model is unable to account for the shading of
the sound from the inner source surfaces by the enclosure surface.
If you specify any interior surfaces as source surfaces, the interior surface must be gen-
erated in advance (e.g., in GAMBIT) in such a way that the two cell zones adjacent to
the surface have different cell zone IDs. Furthermore, you must correctly specify which
of the two zones is occupied by the quadrupole sources (interior cell zone). This will
allow FLUENT to determine the direction in which the sound will propagate. When you
first attempt to select a legitimate interior surface (i.e., an interior surface having two
different cell zones on both sides) as a source surface, the Interior Cell Zone Selection
panel (Figure 21.3.3) will appear. You will then need to select the interior cell zones
from the two zones listed under the Interior Cell Zone. Figure 21.3.4 shows an example of

an interior source surface.
Figure 21.3.3: The Interior Cell Zone Selection Panel
Like general interior surfaces, if the source surfaces selected are sliding interfaces, a panel
similar to Figure 21.3.3 will appear that will show the two adjacent cell zones and you
will be asked to specify the zone which has the sound sources.
i When a permeable surface (either interior or sliding interface) is chosen as

the source surface, other wall surfaces inside the volume enclosed by the
permeable surface that generate sound should not be chosen for the acous-
tics calculation. For example, when running an “on-the-fly” calculation, if
both these surfaces are selected, the sound pressure will be counted twice.
3.36e+03
2.92e+03
2.48e+03
2.04e+03
1.59e+03 outer fluid
1.15e+03
7.12e+02 interior source surface
2.70e+02
-1.71e+02
-6.13e+02
-1.05e+03
-1.50e+03
-1.94e+03 inner fluid
-2.38e+03
-2.82e+03
-3.26e+03
-3.70e+03
-4.14e+03
-4.59e+03
-5.03e+03
-5.47e+03
Contours of Static Pressure (pascal) (Time=2.2210e-02) Jan 30, 2004

FLUENT 6.2 (2d, segregated, LES, unsteady)
Figure 21.3.4: An Interior Source Surface
21-18
Saving Source Data

To save the source data, you have to specify the Source Data Root File Name, Write
Frequency (in number of time steps), and No. of Time Steps Per File in the Acoustic
Sources panel.
The Source Data Root File Name is used to give the names of the source data files (e.g.,
acoustic examplexxxx.asd, where xxxx is the global time-step index of the transient
solution) and an index file (e.g., acoustic example.index) that will store the informa-
tion associated with the source data . The Write Frequency allows you to control how
often the source data will be written. This will enable you to save disk space if the
time-step size used in the transient flow simulation is smaller than necessary to resolve
the sound frequency you are attempting to predict. In most situations, however, you will
want to save the source data at every time step and use the default value of 1.
Since acoustics calculations usually generate thousands of time steps of source data, you
may want to split the data into several files. Specifying the No. of Time Steps Per File
allows you to write the source data into separate files for different simulation intervals,
the duration of which (in terms of the number of transient flow time steps) is specified
by you. For example, if you specify 100 for this parameter, each file will contain source
data for an interval length of 100 time steps regardless of the write frequency.
You will find this feature useful if you want to use a selected number of source data files to
compute the sound pressure rather than using all the data. For example, you may want
to exclude an initial portion of the source data from your acoustics calculation because
you may realize later that the flow field has not fully attained a statistically steady state.
After you click Apply, FLUENT will create the index file (e.g., acoustics example.index),
which contains information about the source data.
If you choose to save source data, keep in mind that the source data can use
i up a considerable amount of disk space, especially if the mesh being used
has a large number of face elements on the source surfaces you selected.
FLUENT will print out the disk space requirement per time step at the
time of source surface selection if the Export Acoustic Source Data option
is enabled in the Acoustics Model panel.
At this point, if you have chosen to perform your acoustics calculation in two steps, (i.e.,
saving the source data first, and computing the sound at a later time), you can go ahead
and instruct FLUENT to perform a suitable number of time steps, and the source data will
be saved to the disk. If you have chosen to perform an “on-the-fly” acoustic calculation,
then you will need to specify receiver locations (see Section 21.3.3: Specifying Acoustic
Receivers) before you run the unsteady FLUENT solution any further.

21.3.3 Specifying Acoustic Receivers

In the Acoustics Model panel, click the Receivers... button to open the Acoustic Receivers
panel (Figure 21.3.5).
Figure 21.3.5: The Acoustic Receivers Panel
Note that you can also open the Acoustic Receivers panel by clicking the
i Receivers... button in the Acoustic Sources or the Acoustic Signals panels.
Increase the No. of Receivers to the total number of receivers for which you want to
compute sound, and enter the coordinates for each receiver in the X-Coord., Y-Coord.,
and Z-Coord. fields. Note that because FLUENT’s acoustics model is ideally suited for far-
field noise prediction, the receiver locations you define should be at a reasonable distance
from the sources of sound (i.e., the selected source surfaces). The receiver locations can
also fall outside of the computational domain.
For each receiver, you can specify a file name in the Signal File Name field. These files will
be used to store the sound pressure signals at the corresponding receivers. By default,
the files will be named receiver-1.ard, receiver-2.ard, etc.
Once the receiver locations have been defined, the setup for your acoustic calculation is
complete. You can now proceed to instruct FLUENT to perform a transient calculation
for a suitable number of time steps. When the calculation is finished, you will have
either the source data saved on files (if you chose to save it to a file or files), or the sound
pressure signals (if you chose to perform an acoustic calculation “on-the-fly”), or both
(if you chose to save the source data to files and if you chose to perform the acoustic
calculation “on-the-fly”).
If you chose to save the source data to files, the FLUENT console window will print a
message at the end of each time step indicating that source data have been written (or
appended to) a file (e.g., acoustic example240.asd).
21-20
21.3.4 Postprocessing for the FW-H Acoustics Model

At this point, you will have either the source data saved to files or the sound pressure
signals computed, or both. You can process these data to compute and plot various
acoustic quantities using FLUENT’s FFT capabilities. See Section 29.10: Fast Fourier
Transform (FFT) Postprocessing for more information.
Writing Acoustic Signals

If you chose to perform the acoustic calculation “on-the-fly”, you will need to write the
sound pressure data to files. To do so, select Write Acoustic Signals under Options in
the Acoustic Signals panel (Figure 21.3.6) and then click Write. The computed acoustic
pressure will be saved from internal buffer memory into a separate file for each receiver
you defined in the Acoustic Receivers panel (e.g., receiver-1.ard).
Solve −→Acoustic Signals...
Reading Unsteady Acoustic Source Data

Computing the sound pressure signals using the source data saved to files is done in the
Acoustic Signals panel (Figure 21.3.6).
Solve −→Acoustic Signals...
To compute the sound data, use the following procedure:
1. In the Acoustic Signals panel, select Read Unsteady Acoustic Source Data Files under
Options.
2. Click Load Index File... and select the index file for your computation in the Select
File dialog box. The file will have the name you entered in the Source Data Root
Filename field in the Acoustic Sources panel, followed by the .index suffix (e.g.,
acoustic example.index).
3. In the Source Data Files list, select the source data files that you want to use
to compute sound. Source data files will all contain the specified root file name
followed by the suffix .asd.
You can use any number of source data files. However, note that you should
i select only consecutive files.
4. In the Active Source Zones list, select the source zones you want to include to
compute sound. See Section 21.3.2: Specifying Source Surfaces for details about
proper source surface selection.

Figure 21.3.6: The Acoustic Signals Panel
5. In the Receivers list, select the receivers for which you want to compute and save
sound.
Optionally, you can click the Receivers... button to open the Acoustic Receivers
panel and define additional receivers.
6. Click the Compute/Write button to compute and save the sound pressure data. One
file will be saved for each receiver you previously specified in the Acoustic Receivers
panel (e.g., receiver-1.ard).
21-22
If you enabled both the Export Acoustic Source Data and Compute Acoustic
i Signals Simultaneously options in the Acoustics Model panel, you will need
to first select the Write Acoustic Signals option in the Acoustic Signals panel
after the flow simulation has been completed. If you select the Read Un-
steady Acoustic Source Data Files before writing out the “on-the-fly” data in
such a case, the data will be flushed out of the internal buffer memory. To
avoid such a loss of data, you should save the FLUENT case and data files
whenever you begin to do an acoustic computation in the Acoustic Signals
panel. The sound pressure data calculated “on-the-fly” will then be saved
into the .dat file. Finally, after the “on-the-fly” data are saved, make sure
to change the file names of the receivers before doing a sound pressure cal-
culation with the Read Unsteady Acoustic Source Data Files option enabled,
to avoid overwriting the “on-the-fly” signal files.
Note that you can compute and write sound pressure signals only when
i the FW-H acoustics model has been enabled. See Section 21.3.1: Export-
ing Source Data Without Enabling the FW-H Model for details about
exporting source data (e.g., for SYSNOISE) without enabling the FW-H
model.
Automatically Pruning the Signal Data
Before the computed sound pressure data at each receiver is saved, it is by default
automatically pruned. Pruning of the receiver data means clipping the tails of the signal
where incomplete source information is available.
The acoustic source data is tabulated from time τ0 to τn . Without auto-pruning, the
receiver register begins receiving the earliest sound pressure signal at
rmin
t0 = τ0 +
a0
where rmin is the shortest distance between the source surfaces and the receiver. However,
the receiver will not receive the sound pressure signal from the farthest point on the source
surfaces (rmax ) until the receiver time becomes
rmax
t1 = τ0 +
a0
From time t0 to t1 , the sound accumulated on the receiver register does not include
the contribution from the entire source surface area, and thus the sound pressure data
received during that time is not complete. The same thing occurs during the period from
rmin
tm = τm +
a0
to
rmax
tn = τn +
a0

Thus, pruning means clipping the signal on the incomplete ends, from t0 to t1 and tm to
tn . Auto-pruning can be disabled using the
define −→ models −→ acoustics −→auto-prune
text command. Although auto-pruning can be disabled, it is expected that you will use
only the complete sound pressure data.
Reporting Option
The RMS value of the time-derivative of the static pressure (∂p/∂t) is for postprocessing
available on surfaces when the FW-H acoustics model is used. Select Surface dpdt RMS
in the Acoustics... category in the relevant postprocessing panels.
Using the FFT Capabilities

Once the sound pressure signals are computed and saved in files, the sound data is
ready to be analyzed using FLUENT’s FFT tools. In the Fourier Transform panel (Fig-
ure 29.10.1), click on Load Input File... and select the appropriate .ard file. If the receiver
data is still in FLUENT’s memory, then it can directly be processed using the Process
Receiver option. See Section 29.10: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Postprocessing for
more information on FLUENT’s FFT capabilities.
Plot −→FFT...
21-24
21.4 Using the Broadband Noise Source Models

In this section, the procedure for setting up and using the broadband noise source models
is outlined first, followed by descriptions of each of the steps involved.
The general procedure for carrying out a broadband noise source calculation in FLUENT
is as follows:
1. Calculate a steady or unsteady RANS solution.
2. Enable the broadband noise model and set the associated model parameters.
3. Postprocess the noise sources.

Display −→Contours...
21.4.1 Enabling the Broadband Noise Source Models

To enable the broadband noise sources models, select Broadband Noise Sources in the
Acoustics Model panel (Figure 21.4.1).
Figure 21.4.1: The Acoustics Model Panel for Broadband Noise

Setting Model Constants

Under Model Constants in the Acoustics Model panel, specify the relevant acoustic param-
eters and constants used by the model. See Section 21.3.1: Enabling the FW-H Acoustics
Model for the definitions of Far-Field Density and Far-Field Sound Speed.
Reference Acoustic Power (for example, Pref in Equation 21.2-14) is used to compute
the acoustic power outputs in decibels (dB). The default value is 10−12 . Note that
the units for the reference acoustic power will be different in 2D (W/m2 ) and 3D
(W/m3 ) cases.
Number of Realizations is the number of samples used in the SNGR to compute the
averaged source terms of LEE and Lilley’s equations. The default value is 200.
Number of Fourier Modes (N in Equation 21.2-36) is the number of the Fourier modes
used to compute the turbulent velocity field and its derivatives. The turbulent
velocity field is then used to compute the LEE and Lilley’s source terms. The
default value is 50.
21-26
21.4.2 Postprocessing for the Broadband Noise Source Models

The final step in the broadband noise source modeling process is the postprocessing
of acoustic power and noise source data. The following variables are available in the
Acoustics... postprocessing category:
• Acoustic Power Level (dB)
• Acoustic Power
• Jet Acoustic Power Level (dB) (axisymmetric models only)
• Jet Acoustic Power (axisymmetric models only)
• Surface Acoustic Power Level (dB)
• Surface Acoustic Power
• Lilley’s Self-Noise Source
• Lilley’s Shear-Noise Source
• Lilley’s Total Noise Source
• LEE Self-Noise X-Source
• LEE Shear-Noise X-Source
• LEE Total Noise X-Source
• LEE Self-Noise Y-Source
• LEE Shear-Noise Y-Source
• LEE Total Noise Y-Source
• LEE Self-Noise Z-Source (3D models only)
• LEE Shear-Noise Z-Source (3D models only)
• LEE Total Noise Z-Source (3D models only)

21-28

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Chapter 21.

Predicting Aerodynamically Generated Noise

The discipline of acoustics, which is a study of pressure waves in fluids, is intimately

• Section 21.1: Overview

• Section 21.2: Acoustics Model Theory

• Section 21.4: Using the Broadband Noise Source Models

21.1.1 Direct Method

21.1.2 Integral Method Based on Acoustic Analogy

Time-accurate solutions can be obtained from unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes

21.1.3 Broadband Noise Source Models

• Jet noise source model

• Boundary layer noise source model

• Source terms in the linearized Euler equations

• Source terms in Lilley’s equation

21.2 Acoustics Model Theory

21.2.1 The Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Model

Tij = ρui uj + Pij − a20 (ρ − ρ0 ) δij (21.2-2)

The free-stream quantities are denoted by the subscript 0.

p0 (~x, t) = p0T (~x, t) + p0L (~x, t) (21.2-4)

• When a permeable source surface (either interior or non-conformal sliding interface)

21.2.2 Broadband Noise Source Models

Jet noise source model

C in Equation 21.2-16 is the modified convection factor defined by

The remaining parameters are defined as

Boundary layer noise source model

Source Terms in the Linearized Euler Equations

∂uai ∂uai ∂Ui 1 ∂pa ρa ∂P

Source Terms in Lilley’s Equation

where Π = (1/γ) ln ppo .

ui (~x, t) = Ui (~x) + u0i (~x, t) (21.2-38)

21.3 Using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings Acoustics Model

4. Specify the receiver location(s).

6. Compute and save the sound pressure signals.

7. Postprocess the sound pressure signals.

21.3.1 Enabling the FW-H Acoustics Model

Figure 21.3.1: The Acoustics Model Panel

Setting Model Constants

Source Correlation Length is required when sound is to be computed using a 2D flow

Computing Sound “On-the-Fly”

Because the noise computation takes a negligible percentage of memory and

Writing Source Data Files

Table 21.3.1: Source Data Saved in Source Data Files

Solver Option Source Surface Source data

Exporting Source Data Without Enabling the FW-H Model

21.3.2 Specifying Source Surfaces

Figure 21.3.2: The Acoustic Sources Panel

an interior source surface.

Figure 21.3.3: The Interior Cell Zone Selection Panel

i When a permeable surface (either interior or sliding interface) is chosen as

Contours of Static Pressure (pascal) (Time=2.2210e-02) Jan 30, 2004

Figure 21.3.4: An Interior Source Surface

Saving Source Data

21.3.3 Specifying Acoustic Receivers

Figure 21.3.5: The Acoustic Receivers Panel

21.3.4 Postprocessing for the FW-H Acoustics Model

Writing Acoustic Signals

Reading Unsteady Acoustic Source Data

Figure 21.3.6: The Acoustic Signals Panel

Automatically Pruning the Signal Data

Using the FFT Capabilities

21.4 Using the Broadband Noise Source Models

1. Calculate a steady or unsteady RANS solution.