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For a single-component perfect gas, entropy perturbations are associated with the difference between the overall density fluctuation and that coming from the acoustic perturbation. Entropy perturbations can generate sound when accelerated/decelerated by a non-uniform flow and this is highly relevant to thermoacoustic instabilities for gas turbines and rocket engines, and to noise emission for aero-engines. Widely used theories to model this entropy-generated sound rely on quasi-1D assumptions for which questions of validity were raised recently from both numerical and experimental studies. In the present work, we build upon an acoustic analogy theory for this problem. This theory was initiated by Morfey (J. Sound Vib. 1973) and Ffowcs Williams and Howe (J. Fluid Mech. 1975) about 50 years ago and extended recently by Yang, Guzmán-Iñigo and Morgans (J. Fluid Mech. 2020) to study the effect of non-plane entropy waves at the inlet of a flow contraction on its sound generation. Comparisons against both numerical simulations and previous theory are performed to validate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work performs a theoretical and numerical analysis of the communication between one-dimensional acoustic and entropy waves in a duct with a mean temperature gradient. Such a situation is highly relevant to combustor flows where the mean temperature drops axially due to heat losses. A duct containing a compact heating element followed by an axial temperature gradient and choked end is considered. The proposed jump conditions linking acoustic and entropy waves on either side of the flame show that the generated entropy wave is generally proportional to the mean temperature ratio across the flame and the ratio (F-1), where F is the flame transfer function. It is inversely proportional to the Mach number immediately downstream of the flame M2. The acoustic and entropy fields in the region of axial mean temperature gradient are calculated using four approaches: (1) using the full three linearised Euler equations as the reference; (2) using two linearised Euler equations in which the acoustic and entropy waves are assumed independent (thus allowing the extent of communication between the acoustic and entropy wave to be evaluated); (3) using a Helmholtz solver which neglects mean flow effects and (4) using a recently developed analytical solution. It is found that the communication between the acoustic and entropy waves is small at low Mach numbers; it rises with increasing Mach number and cannot be neglected when the mean Mach number downstream of the heating element exceeds 0.1. Predictions from the analytical method generally match those from the full three linearised Euler equations, and the Helmholtz solver accurately determines the acoustic field when M2≤0.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical solution for the one-dimensional acoustic field in a duct with arbitrary mean temperature gradient and mean flow. A wave equation for the pressure perturbation is derived which relies on very few assumptions. An analytical solution for this is derived using an adapted WKB approximation. The solution is a superposition of waves travelling in either direction and thus provides physical insight. It is also very easy to calculate. The proposed solution is applied to ducts with a mean temperature profile which varies axially with (i) a linear and (ii) a partial sine wave profile: predictions are compared to those obtained by numerically solving the linearised Euler equations (LEEs). The analytical solution reproduces the acoustic field very accurately across a wide range of flow conditions which span both low and moderate-to-high subsonic Mach numbers. It always performs well when the frequency exceeds a certain value; when the mean temperature profile is linear, it also performs well to very low frequencies. This increased frequency range for linear mean temperature profiles leads to its application to more complicated profiles in a piecewise linear manner, axially segmenting the temperature profile into regions that can be approximated as linear. The acoustic field is predicted very accurately as long as enough segmentation points are used and the condition for the linear mean temperature profile is satisfied: | k 0 | > | α | , where k 0 is the local wave number when there is no mean flow and α is the normalised mean density gradient. The proposed solution is extensively compared to previous analytical solutions, and is found to be more accurate and reliable, especially at higher Mach numbers. The entropy wave generated by communication between the acoustic waves and the distributed mean temperature zone is calculated using the LEEs. It is found to remain very small across all operating conditions, such that both the entropy wave and its impact on the acoustic field can be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combustion noise comprises two components: direct combustion noise and indirect combustion noise. The latter is the lesser studied, with entropy noise believed to be its main component. Entropy noise is generated via a sequence involving diverse flow physics. It has enjoyed a resurgence of interest over recent years, because of its increasing importance to aero-engine exhaust noise and a recognition that it can affect gas turbine combustion instabilities. Entropy noise occurs when unsteady heat release rate generates temperature fluctuations (entropy waves), and these subsequently undergo acceleration. Five stages of flow physics have been identified as being important, these being (a) generation of entropy waves by unsteady heat release rate; (b) advection of entropy waves through the combustor; (c) acceleration of entropy waves through either a nozzle or blade row, to generate entropy noise; (d) passage of entropy noise through a succession of turbine blade rows to appear at the turbine exit; and (e) reflection of entropy noise back into the combustor, where it may further perturb the flame, influencing the combustor thermoacoustics. This article reviews the underlying theory, recent progress and outstanding challenges pertaining to each of these stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The development and transmission of sound through the exit of an aero-engine combustor is often investigated by modelling the complex geometry as a convergent-divergent nozzle. However, these analytical acoustic predictions are usually limited to the compact case, where the length of the nozzle is insignificant compared to the wavelength of the flow perturbations, or to cases where the variation of the mean velocity through the nozzle may be treated as linear or piece-wise linear. Considering terms up to first order in frequency for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy, this paper investigates an alternative approach by deriving effective lengths for the passage of the flow perturbations through a supercritical convergent-divergent nozzle. The effects due to the presence of a normal shock wave are also studied using a linearised form of the Rankine–Hugoniot relations. The analyses lead to predictions for the phase and magnitude of the transmitted acoustic waves from finite-length nozzles, and are valid for low non-dimensional frequencies. It has been found that these predictions agree well with the numerical results from inviscid simulations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acoustic and entropy waves interacting in a duct with a steady heat source and mean flow are analysed using an asymptotic expansion (AE) for low frequencies. The analytical AE solutions are obtained by taking advantage of flow invariants and applying a multi-step strategy. The proposed solutions provide first-order corrections to the compact model in the form of integrals of mean flow variables. An eigenvalue system is then built to predict the thermoacoustic modes of a duct containing a distributed heat source or sink. Predictions from the AE solutions agree well with the numerical results of the linearised Euler equations for both frequencies and growth rates, as long as the low-frequency condition is satisfied. The AE solutions are able to accurately reconstruct the acoustic and entropy waves and correct the significant errors in the predicted entropy wave associated with the compact model. The analysis illustrates that the thermoacoustic system needs to account for the entropy wave generated by the interaction of acoustic wave and the distributed steady heat source, especially when density- or entropy-dependent boundary conditions are prescribed at the duct ends. Furthermore, a combination of the AE method and the modified WKB approximation method is discussed for a cooling case. The AE solutions remedy the disadvantage of the WKB solution in the low and very low-frequency domain and facilitate full-frequency theoretical analyses of sound propagation and entropy generation in inhomogeneous duct flow fields. • Analytical solution is obtained for sound in a one-dimensional non-uniform mean flow. • Flow invariants are obtained for the ODE with varying coefficients. • Asymptotic expansion is used to get the first-order correction to the compact model. • Distributed length changes the resonant frequencies and their growth rates. • An entropy-dependent boundary condition results in different thermoacoustic modes. • Full-range predictions are achieved by combining a modified WKB method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we investigate both numerically and theoretically the sound generated by entropy waves passing through sudden area expansions. This is a canonical configuration representing internal flows with flow separation and stagnation pressure losses. The numerical approach is based on a triple decomposition of the flow variables into a steady mean, a small-amplitude coherent part, and a stochastic turbulent part. The coherent part contains acoustic, vortical, and entropy waves. The mean flow is obtained as the solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. The equations governing the coherent perturbations are linearised and solved in the frequency domain. To account for the effect of turbulence on the coherent perturbations, a frozen eddy viscosity model is employed. When entropy fluctuations pass through the area expansion, the generated entropy noise behaves as a low-pass filter. The numerical predictions of the noise at low frequencies are compared to the predictions of compact, quasi-one-dimensional, and isentropic theory and large discrepancies are observed. An alternative model for the generated entropy noise tailored for area expansions is then proposed. Such model is based on the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy written in integral form. The model assumes zero frequency and the one-dimensionality of the flow variables far upstream and downstream of the expansion. The predictions of this model agree well with the numerical simulations across a range of finite subsonic Mach numbers including low, intermediate, and high Mach numbers. The contributions of this work are both numerical and theoretical. Numerically, a triple decomposition adapted to high-Mach-number, compressible flows is introduced for the first time in the context of acoustic simulations. From a theoretical point of view, the quasi-steady model proposed here correctly captures the low-frequency entropy noise generated at sudden area expansions, including at high subsonic Mach numbers. • Isentropic, quasi-1D theory overpredicts the entropy noise at sudden area expansions • We propose a numerical approach based on a triple decomposition for compressible flows. • We propose an alternative compact analytical model tailored to area expansions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]