An improved artificial compressibility method for aeroacoustics at low Mach numbers

Abstract

This work presents an improved artificial compressibility method that enables correct sound propagation behaviour in low Mach number flows. As an extension of incompressible approaches, it offers the advantage of low computational costs since compressible flow equations are simplified under the isentropic assumption, and the coupling of flow and sound is preserved. The non-uniform speed of sound is considered in this method, and eigenvalue analysis of the modified governing equations reveals that the propagation speed of pseudo waves restores to that of physical acoustic waves. The effect of Mach number on the dissipation and dispersion error is then studied using a two-dimentional monopole example with uniform background flow. The results suggest that the proposed method can provide a satisfactory prediction of sound propagation when the Mach number is below 0.3. Lastly, a direct noise computation of the aerofoil trailing-edge noise problem is performed to assess its capability to deal with the interaction between flow and sound. It shows that the present method can well capture the multiple-tone phenomenon.