Acoustic Source Characterization for Prediction of Medium Speed Diesel Engine Exhaust Noise

To achieve reliable results when simulating the acoustics of the internal combustion engine (IC-engine) exhaust system and its components, the source characteristics of the engine must be known. In the low frequency range only plane waves propagate and then one-port source data can be determined using, for example, the acoustic multiload method. For the medium speed IC-engines used in power plants and ships, the exhaust duct noise often needs to be analyzed up to 10 kHz, i.e., far beyond the plane wave range, and it is then more appropriate to use acoustic power to characterize the source. This power should ideally be measured under reflection-free conditions in the exhaust duct. The results from an earlier study showed that a suitable way to characterize the source for any frequency is to determine the in-duct sound power by extending the plane wave formulation with frequency band power weighting factors. The aim of this study is to apply this high frequency range method in situ to a real test engine. Another aim is to define, theoretically, how to combine the source data in the low frequency plane wave range with those in the high frequency nonplane wave range using a source sound power formulation.