Suppression of flow–acoustic coupling in sidebranch ducts by interface modification

The flow–acoustic coupling of shear layer instabilities with the acoustic resonances at the interface of a closed sidebranch and main duct can produce high-amplitude pure-tone noise, known as “whistle”. This study investigates experimentally the effect of various interface geometry modifications on whistles. The objective of the modifications is to suppress the noise by redirecting the shear layer at the main duct–sidebranch interface. Interchangeable suppressor blocks of varying shapes and sizes mounted upstream and downstream of the sidebranch opening are used to change the geometry. The block shapes include those with square edges, ramps, bevelled edges, and curved (radiused) edges. The experiments are conducted in a flow facility at conditions that include certain ranges of Strouhal numbers known to coincide with significant noise generation. The effectiveness of various suppressors in reducing the noise is assessed by analyzing the measured sound pressure levels.