The experimental synthesis of random pressure fields: Methodology

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology for the off-line reproduction of random pressure fields with given spatial correlation characteristics. The simulation method is first presented, together with an outline of the signal processing techniques required. The design of an experimental setup is then detailed in relation with the nature of the simulated pressure fields. Of particular interest is the laboratory synthesis of three different types of partially correlated random excitations: an acoustic diffuse field, a grazing incident plane wave, and a turbulent boundary layer. The corresponding excitations are generated in a semianechoic chamber over a test panel using a near-field array of 16 loudspeakers driven by a set of optimal signals. The loudspeakers are positioned at a suitable distance above a sufficiently dense grid of microphones close to the simulation surface. The mutually correlated drive signals are determined from both the target correlation properties and the acoustic transfer functions measured between the loudspeakers and the microphones. This approach could provide a cost-effective method of reducing the variation of low frequency sound transmission measurements as well as simulating the propeller-induced noise and the boundary layer noise transmitted through aircraft fuselage structures.