A Experimental and Theoretical Study of High - High-Efficiency Sirens.

High-intensity, high-efficiency sound sources are needed for acoustic agglomeration of particle-laden aerosols in power plant flues and for combustion enhancement. The theory of the linear model is reviewed and shown to be in strong disagreement with experimental results. The experimental evaluation of sirens is then discussed. It is shown that high sound pressure levels strongly affect the evaluation of the performance of high-intensity sound sources. The mechanical design of an experimental and a full-size siren is presented. Tunable inlet chambers are included to minimize the acoustic power radiated backward in the siren. The experimental results show that tunable inlets are most effective at low pressure ratios and low frequencies. The main acoustic losses are due to the sound radiated backward into the siren chamber, the acoustic boundary-layer, the clearance between rotor and stator, and the finite-amplitude character of the acoustic wave. A theoretical study of the sound generation mechanism in sirens is then presented. The various sound attenuation mechanisms are reviewed and a low frequency numerical solution for the frequency response is given which includes arbitrary attenuation, dispersion, horn shape, and mean flow. Next finite-amplitude sound propagation in a horn is studied. Results are presented that agree very well with experimental data. Important nonlinear phenomena such as shock formation, acoustic saturation, and distortion of initially non-sinusoidal finite-amplitude waves are discussed. Finally, a new siren design methodology is presented, including a step-by-step discussion on how to minimize the acoustic losses.