Measured wavenumber: frequency spectrum associated with acoustic and aerodynamic wall pressure fluctuations

Direct measurements of the wavenumber-frequency spectrum of wall pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent plane channel flow have been performed in an anechoic wind tunnel. A rotative array has been designed that allows the measurement of a complete map, 63×63 measuring points, of cross-power spectral densities over a large area. An original post-processing has been developed to separate the acoustic and the aerodynamic exciting loadings by transforming space-frequency data into wavenumber-frequency spectra. The acoustic part has also been estimated from a simple Corcos-like model including the contribution of a diffuse sound field. The measured acoustic contribution to the surface pressure fluctuations is 5% of the measured aerodynamic surface pressure fluctuations for a velocity and boundary layer thickness relevant for automotive interior noise applications. This shows that for aerodynamically induced car interior noise, both contributions to the surface pressure fluctuations on car windows have to be taken into account.