Near- to far-field characteristics of acoustic radiation through plug flow jets

This paper reports a theoretical study of the radiation of sound through jet exhausts. It focuses on the transition from near field to far field by considering the features of the near-field solution and how these features translate to the far field. The main focus of this work is the importance in some cases of lateral waves radiating from the jet. While the presence of lateral waves has long been recognized, there has been no systematic investigation of the practical consequences of these waves in the prediction of sound propagation through round jets. The physical mechanisms involved in the generation of these waves are presented as well as the conditions under which they become significant. Another issue is the possibility of "channeled waves" inside the jet associated with strong sound radiation in the forward arc. This paper also discusses the validity of the far-field approximation when lateral waves are present. It is shown that the standard far-field approximation can be improved by adding correction terms that account for the presence of the lateral waves and channeled waves. The challenge posed to computational aeroacoustics by these near-field effects is also discussed.