Non-reflective hard source method for multiple physically extended sources and scattering bodies

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on methodologies to inject a noise source in a numerical model of noise propagation in confined domains. This is a problem of primary importance when dealing with propagation of fluid-dynamic induced noise in confined basins, like ships at sea or wind farms. We first assess the performance of the literature hard source (HS) and transparent source methods; successively, we propose a novel method named the non-reflective HS (NRHS) method. It takes advantage of the linearity of the equation governing the propagation of acoustic waves in fluids and is based on the decomposition of the total signal in the sum of direct and reflected signals. It presents the advantages of the hard source method removing the main drawback consisting of the well-known problem of spurious reflections. To check the reliability of the HS vs the NRHS, a non-dimensional parameter (the encumbrance) has been defined, which gives a measure of the extension of the generation domain with respect to the propagation domain in relation to the principal wavelength of the acoustic waves and the presence of reflecting surfaces. The method herein developed gives accurate results in the case of a single-point source, where the literature methods behave well; more importantly, the NRHS method maintains its own accuracy when a noise source needs to be represented by a large number of points in space, situations of very practical importance where the standard methods may exhibit inaccuracy. This is a point of importance since the use of large generation domains is in favor of the accuracy of the source characterization, which can exhibit a complex directivity. The new method has been tested in a number of archetypal situations characterized by the presence of a reflecting plane, a scattering body close to the source location, and two sources placed side by side. In all cases, the method has shown its own superiority with respect to the standard HS method, still preserving the flexibility and simplicity of the latter.