Semi-empirical prediction of tone noise due to counter-rotating open rotors
Counter-rotating open rotors (CROR) were extensively studied to power medium-size aircraft in the 80s aft er the first increases in fuel costs. Indeed, their efficiency i s greater than that of turbofans and of single prop fans. They have again become a topical subject due to the new incre ase of fuel costs and to the risk of oil shortage. They however raise a serious acoustic issue because noise is gen erated by the two rotors and by their interactions, and due to the lack of any shielding nacelle. An original and fast semi-empirical method is proposed to predict radia ted sound levels. The objective is to rapidly assess if certification rules can be fulfilled, and to estimate the possib le impact of a future fleet on noise contours around airports. This work is thus focused on takeoff and approach conditions (advancing Mach number lower than 0.3). It is shown that direc tivity of a tone is mainly determined by a Bessel fu nction, and a parabolic pattern is suggested for overall sound pr essure levels. The shape of third-octave spectra is based on the large number of interaction tones which are present in each frequency band. Finally, some information is given on overall sound levels.
High speed turboprop aeroacoustic study (single rotation). Volume 1: Model development
A frequency-domain noncompact-source theory for the steady loading and volume-displacement (thickness) noise of high speed propellers has been developed and programmed. Both near field and far field effects have been considered. The code utilizes blade surface pressure distributions obtained from three-dimensional nonlinear aerodynamic flow field analysis programs as input for evaluating the steady loading noise. Simplified mathematical models of the velocity fields induced at the propeller disk by nearby wing and fuselage surfaces and by angle-of-attack operation have been developed to provide estimates of the unsteady loading imposed on the propeller by these potential field type interactions. These unsteady blade loadings have been coupled to a chordwise compact propeller unsteady loading noise model to provide predictions of unsteady loading noise caused by these installation effects. Finally, an analysis to estimate the corrections to be applied to the free-field noise predictions in order to arrive at the measurable fuselage sound pressure levels has been formulated and programmed. This analysis considers the effects of fuselage surface reflection and diffraction together with surface boundary layer refraction. The steady loading and thickness model and the unsteady loading model have been verified using NASA-supplied data for the SR-2 and SR-3 model propfans. In addition, the steady loading and thickness model has been compared with data from the SR-6 model propfan. These theoretical models have been employed in the evaluation of the SR-7 powered Gulfstream aircraft in terms of noise characteristics at representative takeoff, cruise, and approach operating conditions. In all cases, agreement between theory and experiment is encouraging.
Pyrite multiple-sulfur isotope evidence for rapid expansion and contraction of the early Paleoproterozoic seawater sulfate reservoir
Abstract Earthʼs oxygenation is often described in terms of two unidirectional steps at the beginning and end of the Proterozoic Eon, separated by a long-lived intermediate redox state. Recent work defines a more complicated path to oxygenation, exemplified by an apparent drop in oxidation state following the early Paleoproterozoic Lomagundi carbon isotope excursion. The timing of this proposed drop in oxidation state is not well constrained, and it is not clear how it relates to redox conditions during the remainder of the Proterozoic. Here we present a study of pyrite multiple-sulfur isotopes, supported by Fe speciation and organic carbon isotopes, from early Paleoproterozoic black shales. We find evidence for the rapid expansion of the seawater sulfate reservoir during the Great Oxidation Event at ca. 2.3 Ga followed by a subsequent contraction in the size of the seawater sulfate reservoir at ca. 2.05 Ga. This scenario is consistent with the emerging view of a rise and fall in surface oxidation state during the early Paleoproterozoic. Comparison of our new data to other records of the seawater sulfate reservoir suggests that the elevated sulfate concentrations that characterize the early Paleoproterozoic did not return until the late Neoproterozoic.