Acoustic source identification of an axial fan in a duct considering the rotation effect

For developing the quiet axial fans, the spatial distribution of acoustic source parameters over the source plane provides essential information. In this study, the previously suggested source identification technique by authors is newly applied to an axial fan. To obtain the acoustic source parameters in a duct, one should overcome many technical difficulties related with: the turbulent flow, high order modes, rotating sources, inverse estimation. Measurements are conducted with several arrays of flush mounted microphones deployed on the periphery of the duct wall. A reference trigger signal obtained from the rotating blade is used to suppress the effect of turbulent flow in the measured pressure spectra with a reduction of about 25 dB in the present work. The maximum error between measurement and estimation is generally <-20 dB in the measurement plane in the very vicinity to the source. The visualized source images clearly indicate the locations and the strengths of main contributors to the radiated sound, e.g., for the inlet of the axial fan, the tip clearance between fan blades and shroud wall.