Vortex sound in unconfined flows: Application to the coupling of a jet-slot oscillator with a resonator

The aeroacoustical coupling of a jet-slot oscillator to the acoustic resonances of the flow-supply duct is studied in this paper. This configuration, producing self-sustained tones, is original in particular because the source domain is unconfined and the coupling occurs to high-order acoustic resonances. The development of a model, based on the Howeʹs corollary of the vortex-sound theory permits the flow-acoustic interactions induced in the production of such tones to be modelled theoretically. This model, together with a careful experimental exploration, provided a description of this aeroacoustic sound source. The findings show that the combination of two mechanisms determines the operating frequency that maximizes the acoustic fluctuations responsible for the production of the tones: (i) the energy exchange between the hydrodynamic and the acoustic fluctuations of the fluid, and (ii) the enhancement of the acoustic oscillation by the resonances. Some differences from the usual behaviour of acoustically coupled self-sustained oscillations—in particular, related to the oscillation amplitude and the synchronization between the vortical and acoustical fields—are highlighted.