Measured Noise Spectra Research Articles

Acoustic flow resonances in installed rectangular jets

Zonal Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of complex installed rectangular jet flows are performed for subsonic jet conditions of the Central Institute for Aviation Motors (CIAM) experiment, where a strong tone was reported. For far-field noise modelling, the zonal LES solutions are coupled with the permeable formulation of the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) method. The obtained noise spectra predictions are compared with the acoustic measurements in the CIAM facility. To reduce statistical noise of the relatively short LES time series, contributions due to several dominant low frequency tones and the remaining broadband signal are computed separately, using a tailored Fourier transform technique for each signal type. For cross-validation, noise spectra measurements of an equivalent isolated round jet in the CIAM facility are compared with the empirical sJet model calibrated on the NASA Small Hot Jet Acoustic Rig (SHJAR) jet noise database. While the two datasets agree reasonably well for mid to high frequencies, larger discrepancies are observed for low frequencies, which are attributed to acoustic reflections in the non-anechoic CIAM facility. The differences in noise levels between the CIAM dataset and the sJet model representing the NASA jet noise data are used to determine the experimental uncertainty of the CIAM noise measurements for each frequency and observer angle. For the installed rectangular jet, it is shown that far-field noise spectra predictions of the zonal LES-FW-H method for both the fundamental tone, its sixth harmonic corresponding to the jet Strouhal number of around 1, and the broadband component are broadly within the experimental error bar for most observer angles. Some discrepancies between predictions of the zonal LES method and the CIAM measurements for the main low frequency tone for the 30o and 90o, where the experimental uncertainty at low frequencies is largest are also noted. After validating the acoustic solutions, spectral and conditional averaging analysis methods are applied to elucidate mechanisms of the acoustic-flow resonance in the installed rectangular jet flow. The numerical dispersion relation is obtained to analyse phase velocities of the upstream and downstream travelling pressure waves in the stream-wise direction. The conditional analysis of pressure fluctuations inside the jet reveals the emergence of internal reflection points corresponding to a rapid change of the acoustic wave phase as well as the saddle points interpreted as localised zones of vorticity shed from the side-wall edges. To independently investigate the effect of trailing edges and corner points of the jet embodiment geometry on closing the acoustic-flow resonance cycle, several modifications of the baseline rectangular nozzle are considered, such as introducing chevron-like lobes and cuts on the trailing edges of the side walls as well as smoothing the sharp corner points of the wall edges. Following the series of additional zonal LES runs with the modified installed nozzle geometries, an optimized tone-less modification of the original installed nozzle was obtained, in broad agreement with the conditional analysis results. The obtained tone-less modification of the installed rectangular jet is further analyzed to provide insights into its similarity and differences from the aeroacoustics of the reference isolated round jet in the same CIAM facility.

High dynamic-range and portable magnetometer using ensemble nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds have been explored for a wide range of sensing applications in the last decade due to their unique quantum properties. In this work, we report a compact and portable magnetometer with an ensemble of NV centers, which we call the Quantum MagPI (Quantum Magnetometer with Proportional Integral control). Our fully integrated compact sensor assembly and control electronics fit inside a 10 × 10 × 7cm3 box and a 30 × 25 × 5cm3 rack-mountable box, respectively. We achieve a bandwidth normalized sensitivity of ∼10 nT/Hz. Using closed-loop feedback for locking to the resonance frequency, we extend the linear dynamic range to 200 μT (20× improvement compared to the intrinsic dynamic range) without compromising the sensitivity. We report a detailed performance analysis of the magnetometer through measurements of noise spectra, Allan deviation, and tracking of nT-level magnetic fields in real-time. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of such a magnetometer by real-time tracking of the movement of an elevator car and door opening events by measuring the projection of the magnetic field along one of the NV-axes under ambient temperature and humidity conditions.

Electronic Noise Spectroscopy of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnetic Semiconductors.

We investigated low-frequency current fluctuations, i.e., electronic noise, in FePS3 van der Waals layered antiferromagnetic semiconductor. The noise measurements have been used as noise spectroscopy for advanced materials characterization of the charge carrier dynamics affected by spin ordering and trapping states. Owing to the high resistivity of the material, we conducted measurements on vertical device configuration. The measured noise spectra reveal pronounced Lorentzian peaks of two different origins. One peak is observed only near the Néel temperature, and it is attributed to the corresponding magnetic phase transition. The second Lorentzian peak, visible in the entire measured temperature range, has characteristics of the trap-assisted generation-recombination processes similar to those in conventional semiconductors but shows a clear effect of the spin order reconfiguration near the Néel temperature. The obtained results contribute to understanding the electron and spin dynamics in this type of antiferromagnetic semiconductors and demonstrate the potential of electronic noise spectroscopy for advanced materials characterization.

Analysis of the Usefulness of Cheap Audio Recorders for Spectral Measurement of Environmental Noise

Environmental noise pollution is nowadays one of the most serious health threats. The impact of noise on the human body depends not only on the sound level but also on its spectral distribution. Reliable measurements of the environmental noise spectrum are often hampered by the very high price of top quality measuring devices. This paper explores the possibility of using much cheaper audio recorders for the frequency analysis. Comparative research was performed in laboratory and field conditions, which showed that, with some limitations, these devices can be useful in analyzing the frequency of environmental noise. This provides an opportunity for reducing the cost of noise analysis experimental work.

Anechoic wind tunnel noise tests for high-speed train bogie aerodynamic noise characterization

At speeds normally reached by high-speed trains (above 300 km/h), aerodynamic noise becomes significant. The bogie region is one of the main sources of aerodynamic noise in high-speed trains due to incoming flow impinging the bogie components and the cavity steps. Noise tests were performed in the Railway Technical Research Institute's anechoic wind tunnel placed in Tokyo, Japan, for different flow speeds from 100 km/h up to 250 km/h using simple shapes representing bogie components, and a 1:5 scale simplified bogie installed in a cavity. The noise spectra radiated by the simple shapes placed at different heights relative to the upstream cavity step are presented, showing the relation between the component geometry and position in the cavity with the produced noise. In addition, the measured noise spectra are shown for different configurations of the 1:5 scale simplified bogie: bare, only with front motor and gearbox, only with rear motor and gearbox and with all of them. The presented results aim to provide a better understanding of how the aerodynamic noise is produced in the bogie region of a high-speed train, and to be used for the prediction models adjustment or validation.

An experimental investigation on the effect of in-flow distortions of propeller noise

Propellers usually operate in non-uniform flow conditions, leading to significant levels of noise generation due to interaction with the leading edges of the propeller blades. Under these flow conditions, the noise generated can be substantially different from the rotor-alone self-noise generated under uniform mean flow conditions. This paper presents an experimental investigation aimed at studying the far-field noise due to a two-bladed propeller immersed in a controlled non-uniform flow with known characteristics. This paper presents the results of a parametric study with different degrees of flow non-uniformity generated from different geometric obstructions located in the jet nozzle, while maintaining constant thrust. Measurements of the radiated noise show that the incoming mean flow non-uniformities under investigation in this study cause a significant increase in tonal amplitudes of the blade passing frequencies of harmonic orders greater than 2. At the first two blade passing frequencies the tones are dominated by the rotor-alone ‘Gutin-type’ tones resulting from the steady blade loading.The measured noise spectra are compared with predictions from a simple frequency-domain flat plate model. The analytical model will be shown to capture the main features of the interaction tonal noise spectrum and directivity.

Validation of a railway rolling noise model on a system with slab track and resilient wheels

This study investigates rolling noise emissions using an analytical model of the Seattle Sound Transit Light Rail system developed using Train Noise Expert (TNE) software. Measurements of track frequency response, decay rate, rail and wheel roughness were used to determine model input parameters. Wheel modal test results were used to characterize the wheels. Wayside noise and track vibration measurements during revenue service train passbys were used to experimentally validate the model. The average difference between measured and predicted overall passby LAeq noise at a position immediately adjacent to the track was 0.1 dBA (average from four scenarios, i.e. two surface track sites with two train types). Inspection of the predicted versus measured noise spectra indicates the model does not exactly match the measured spectrum in every frequency band, however the correlation with overall spectrum shape is good in the frequency bands that contribute most to the overall A-weighted level. It is concluded that the model provides an accurate representation of the most relevant physical rolling noise factors and is reliable with resilient wheels and light rail vehicles on ballast and slab track.

Characterizations of the electrothermal parameters of a transition edge sensor microcalorimeter and its energy resolution

We developed a transition-edge sensor microcalorimeter (μ-calorimeter) using Mo/Au/Au thin films. We report the detector fabrication, the measurements of the electrothermal parameters and the noise characterizations of the transition-edge sensor μ-calorimeters. We estimated the energy resolution of the μ-calorimeter using the measured noise spectrum and the calculated power-to-current responsivity. Using a 55Fe radioactive X-ray source, we characterized the detector responses to incident photons at various working points. The best instrumental energy resolution achieved was 4.13 eV @ 5.9 keV, which agrees qualitatively with the resolution of 4.01 eV estimated from the noise spectrum.

Direct observation of the thermal noise spectrum of a silicon flexure membrane

We present a direct measurement of the displacement noise spectrum of a macroscopic silicon flexure at room temperature. A cantilever attached to the 100 μm thick flexure holds a mirror which forms part of an optical cavity to enhance the displacement sensitivity to thermal noise. We predict the displacement noise spectrum using a simple model that assumes the dominant source of frequency-dependent loss is thermo-elastic damping and find good agreement with the experimental data. The measurement is consistent with a frequency-independent loss of ϕ0,fi=1.6×10−5 combined with frequency-dependent thermo-elastic damping as the dominant losses. A crossover between the two that occurs well above the flexure resonant frequency allows a broadband measurement of the thermal noise of the silicon flexure. The flexure material, geometry, and measurement band are similar to those of planned future gravitational wave detectors.

Experimental contribution analysis of external noise components to interior noise of an automobileExperimental contribution analysis of external noise components to interior noise of an automobile

The contribution analysis of various automobile noise sources to the interior noise is important, enabling to design an automobile with a low interior noise level. However, it is difficult to experimentally analyze the contribution of physically meaningful noise sources to the interior noise using the state-of-the-art contribution analysis method, for example, based on the transmissibility matrix method and the singular value decomposition (SVD), since the source strengths decomposed by using the SVD procedure are difficult to be associated with physical sources. Here, it is proposed to decompose an interior noise auto-spectrum into multiple auto-spectra, each represents the contribution of a physically meaningful noise source to the interior noise, by using the LDL decomposition. Through an experiment with the three speakers driven by three independent, filtered random noise signals, it was shown that the measured noise spectrum could be successfully decomposed into three contributions, each associated with noise radiated from only one speaker. Then, an automobile instrumented with 64 exterior and 4 interior microphones was tested on a highway at the speeds of 65 miles per hour (mph) and 80 mph. The contribution results obtained by processing the measured microphone signals indicated the highest contributions of the aeroacoustic sources on the windows and the hood to the interior noise.

Nonlinear noise spectrum measurement using a probability-maintained noise power ratio method

Nonlinear distortion (noise) limits many communication systems, demanding a means of estimating system performance via device nonlinear characteristics. The noise power ratio (NPR) method which was proposed in 1971 solves this problem for systems with Gaussian stimuli or with special nonlinearity, but practical and accurate methods for many communication systems with non-Gaussian stimuli are rare. Here we propose a probability-maintained (PM) NPR method to accurately measure the spectrum of nonlinear noise via a spectrum analyzer in non-specific systems, including systems with non-Gaussian stimuli. Using an equivalent additive noise model in which the spectrum of equivalent nonlinear noise is the measurement result of PM NPRs, nonlinear system performance could be estimated with an error of 0.5 dB. Further, we find that zero-mean Chi-square noise, instead of Gaussian noise, should be selected for large memory and low-order nonlinear systems. Our method is verified in seven different scenarios with various nonlinear mechanisms and communication applications.

Frequency division multiplexing readout of a transition edge sensor bolometer array with microstrip-type electrical bias lines.

We demonstrate multiplexed readout of 43 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers operating at 90 mK using a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) readout chain with bias frequencies ranging from 1 to 3.5MHz and a typical frequency spacing of 32kHz. We improve the previously reported performance of our FDM system by two important steps. First, we replace the coplanar wires with microstrip wires, which minimize the cross talk from mutual inductance. From the measured electrical cross talk (ECT) map, the ECT of all pixels is carrier leakage dominated. Only five pixels show an ECT level higher than 1%. Second, we reduce the thermal response speed of the TES detectors by a factor of 20 by increasing the heat capacity of the TES, which allows us to bias all TES detectors below 50% in transition without oscillations. We compare the current-voltage curves and noise spectra of the TESs measured in single-pixel mode and multiplexing mode. We also compare the noise equivalent power (NEP) and the saturation power of the bolometers in both modes, where 38 pixels show less than 10% difference in NEP and 5% difference in saturation power when measured in the two different modes. The measured noise spectrum is in good agreement with the simulated noise based on measured parameters from an impedance measurement, confirming that our TES is dominated by phonon noise.

Slat noise measurements in open-jet, hard-wall and hybrid wind tunnel test sections

This paper assesses the comparability of aeroacoustic slat noise measurement in an open-jet, a hard-wall, and a hybrid test section configuration. The 30P30N common research model was tested in the Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel of the University of Twente at a chord-based Reynolds number up to 1⋅106 and free-stream Mach number 0.15. Pressure distribution measurements were used to determine the aerodynamic similar condition of the flow in the slat cove. These conditions are subsequently validated by time-averaged 2D PIV measurements. The experiments show that general aspects of the flow in the slat cove are similar when the Cp distribution around the leading-edge slat element in each test section configuration is comparable. Overall, the shear layer path and reattachment point are in close agreement, showing that the aeroacoustic noise production mechanisms are comparable. Microphone phased array measurements were subsequently conducted to compare the far-field noise characteristics originating from the slat in each test section configuration. A framework is proposed to correct the acoustic measurements of each test section configuration to a standard free-field condition. Transmission loss corrections are required for the microphone measurements in the hard-wall and hybrid test section configurations, whereas a coherence loss model was validated and applied to correct the microphone measurements in the open-jet. The measured noise spectra in each test section configuration show differences up to approximately 5 dB. In general the differences were found to be smaller. The largest differences are seen for small angles of attack with noise levels in the open-jet test section showing considerably higher values than the hard-wall test section and hybrid test section results. In addition, the behavior of the vortex shedding hump in the high frequency range is different in the open-jet measurements, which could be related to the larger noise level differences at small angles of attack.

Prediction of broadband noise generated from low-pressure fan based on experimental pressure power spectral density

Low-pressure fans are widely used in industrial machinery as well as in home-use electrical apparatus. Consequently, their improved aerodynamic performance and reduced fan noise are important technical issues. This study developed a methodology for the experimental determination of the pressure power spectral density (PSD) of a flat plate based on a wind tunnel experiment and the broadband noise generated from a low-pressure fan predicted based on its pressure PSD. In the proposed methodology, the broadband noise of the fan was evaluated by superimposing the predicted broadband noise of the divided blade elements in the impeller. Using this methodology, the broadband noise of the objective fan could be predicted via the wind tunnel experiment and the representative internal flow properties of the fan such as relative velocity and deviation angle. Moreover, the relationship between the broadband noise in the design and off-design conditions and the flow regime were analyzed by referring to the parameters for the prediction. In the off-design low flow rate condition, the flow around the impeller became a swirling flow owing to the increasing back pressure, and the fan noise in the off-design condition increased, especially in the low-frequency domain. The broadband noise was generated by leakage flow in the vicinity of the leading edge at the blade tip which interfered with the adjacent blade. Therefore, the mechanism of broadband noise generation in the off-design condition distinguished the mechanism of trailing edge noise. As indicated by the results of the predicted broadband noise comparison, the suggested experimental methodology best represented the measured noise spectra in the design condition. The experimental pressure PSD showed that the broadband noise in the design condition was affected by the trailing edge noise generated at the blade tip.

The full spectrum of broadband shock cell noise

Broadband shock cell noise has been studied by numerous investigators since the work of Harper-Bourne and Fisher (1973). This noise component radiates in the upstream direction together with another noise component, the fine scale mixing noise. In measured noise spectra, broadband shock cell noise shows up as a small peak protruded up from a broad background noise. The spectral shape of the peak has been studied by Tam (1990) and Kuo et al. (2015). Good agreements are found between predictions and measurements. This situation begs the question of the shape of the full noise spectrum. The answer lies in devising a way to separate the two noise components. Here, this is done at the raw data level. We know broadband shock cell noise is generated by the interaction between large turbulent structures and shock cells whereas mixing noise is generated by fine scale turbulence. One, therefore, expects a scale separation between the two noise components. Broadband shock cell noise sound pulses are expected to have a longer duration or larger pulses while turbulent mixing noise much shorter pulses. This idea has now been implemented on a set of F-18E noise data at 28 degrees. Results and relevant details will be reported.

Robust quantum control using hybrid pulse engineering

The development of efficient algorithms that generate robust quantum controls is crucial for the realization of quantum technologies. The commonly used gradient-based optimization algorithms are limited by their sensitivity to the initial guess, which affects their performance. Here we propose combining the gradient method with the simulated annealing technique to formulate a hybrid algorithm. Our numerical analysis confirms its superior convergence rate. Using the hybrid algorithm, we generate spin-selective $\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulses and employ them for experimental measurement of local noise spectra in a three-qubit nuclear magnetic resonance system. Moreover, here we describe a general method to construct noise-resilient quantum controls by incorporating noisy fields within the optimization routine of the hybrid algorithm. Upon experimental comparison with similar sequences obtained from standard algorithms, we find remarkable robustness of the hybrid sequences against dephasing errors.

A lensed fiber Bragg grating-based membrane-in-the-middle optomechanical cavity

Optomechanical systems benefit from the coupling between an optical field and mechanical vibrations. Fiber-based devices are well suited to easily exploit this interaction. We report an alternative approach of a silicon nitride membrane-in-the-middle of a high quality factor (10^6–10^7) Fabry–Perot, formed by a grating inscribed within a fiber core as an input mirror in front of a dielectric back mirror. The Pound–Drever–Hall technique used to stabilize the laser frequency on the optical resonance frequency allows us to reduce the low frequency noise down to {4},{{mathrm{kHz}}/sqrt{mathrm{Hz}}}. We present a detailed methodology for the characterization of the optical and optomechanical properties of this stabilized system, using various membrane geometries, with corresponding resonance frequencies in the range of several hundred of {mathrm{kHz}}. The excellent long-term stability is illustrated by continuous measurements of the thermomechanical noise spectrum over several days, with the laser source maintained at optical resonance. This major result makes this system an ideal candidate for optomechanical sensing.

Grid Generated Turbulence for Aeroacoustic Facility

A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the AIAA Aviation 2020 forum (Paper 2020-2525).This paper provides an insight into the grid generated turbulence for aeroacoustic studies. Several passive grids of square bars were tested in the open-jet aeroacoustic facility at the University of Bristol. The geometric properties of the grids and their position within the tunnel contraction nozzle were varied to quantify their influence on the average and statistical flow properties as well as the generated self-noise. Moreover, case studies involving turbulence interaction noise generation with a NACA0012 airfoil and cylinder were conducted. Turbulence intensity, integral length scale, and the anisotropy of the flow generated by each grid were characterized by hot-wire measurements, and the associated far-field noise was measured by a far-field microphone array. The grid turbulence results show that the downstream evolution of the turbulence intensity and integral length scale was comparable to results of closed test-section wind-tunnel studies for the first hydraulic diameter downstream of the contraction nozzle exit. However, beyond the first hydraulic diameter, the turbulence intensity plateaus and the integral length scales show rapid growth. Moreover, the results show that grids positioned closest to the contraction nozzle exit produced turbulence closest to isotropy with high levels of turbulence intensity, but the measured noise spectra suffered from the contamination from the grids self-noise. The grids located farthest from the contraction nozzle exit performed best in terms of noise contamination and could generate almost the same level of turbulence properties as the grids closest to the contraction nozzle exit.

Estimation of the Laser Frequency Noise Spectrum by Continuous Dynamical Decoupling

Decoherence induced by laser frequency noise is one of the most important obstacles in quantum information processing. In order to suppress this decoherence, the noise power spectral density needs to be accurately characterized. In particular, the noise spectrum measurement based on the coherence characteristics of qubits would be a meaningful and still challenging method. Here, we theoretically analyze and experimentally obtain the spectrum of laser frequency noise based on the continuous dynamical decoupling technique. We first estimate the mixture-noise (including laser and magnetic noises) spectrum up to $(2\ensuremath{\pi})530$ kHz by monitoring the transverse relaxation from an initial state $+X$, followed by a gradient descent data process protocol. Then the contribution from the laser noise is extracted by encoding the qubits on different Zeeman sublevels. We also investigate two sufficiently strong noise components by making an analogy between these noises and driving lasers whose linewidth is assumed to be negligible. This method is verified experimentally and finally helps to characterize the noise.

Impact of polarised extragalactic sources on the measurement of CMBB-mode anisotropies

One of the main goals of cosmology is to search for the imprint of primordial gravitational waves in the polarisation filed of the cosmic microwave background to probe inflation theories. One of the obstacles in detecting the primordial signal is that the cosmic microwave backgroundB-mode polarisation must be extracted from among astrophysical contaminations. Most efforts have focus on limiting Galactic foreground residuals, but extragalactic foregrounds cannot be ignored at the large scale (ℓ ≲ 150), where the primordialB-modes are the brightest. We present a complete analysis of extragalactic foreground contamination that is due to polarised emission of radio and dusty star-forming galaxies. We update or use current models that are validated using the most recent measurements of source number counts, shot noise, and cosmic infrared background power spectra. We predict the flux limit (confusion noise) for future cosmic microwave background (CMB) space-based or balloon-borne experiments (IDS, PIPER, SPIDER, LiteBIRD, and PICO), as well as ground-based experiments (C-BASS, NEXT-BASS, QUIJOTE, AdvACTPOL, BICEP3+Keck, BICEPArray, CLASS, Simons Observatory, SPT3G, and S4). The telescope aperture size (and frequency) is the main characteristic that affects the level of confusion noise. Using the flux limits and assuming mean polarisation fractions independent of flux and frequency for radio and dusty galaxies, we computed theB-mode power spectra of the three extragalactic foregrounds (radio source shot noise, dusty galaxy shot noise, and clustering). We discuss their relative levels and compare their amplitudes to that of the primordial tensor modes parametrised by the tensor-to-scalar ratior. At the reionisation bump (ℓ= 5), contamination by extragalactic foregrounds is negligible. While the contamination is much lower than the targeted sensitivity onrfor large-aperture telescopes at the recombination peak (ℓ= 80), it is at a comparable level for some of the medium- (∼1.5 m) and small-aperture telescope (≤0.6 m) experiments. For example, the contamination is at the level of the 68% confidence level uncertainty on the primordialrfor the LiteBIRD and PICO space-based experiments. These results were obtained in the absence of multi-frequency component separation (i.e. considering each frequency independently). We stress that extragalactic foreground contaminations have to be included in the input sky models of component separation methods dedicated to the recovery of the CMB primordialB-mode power spectrum. Finally, we also provide some useful unit conversion factors and give some predictions for the SPICA B-BOP experiment, which is dedicated to Galactic and extragalactic polarisation studies. We show that SPICA B-BOP will be limited at 200 and 350μm by confusion from extragalactic sources for long integrations in polarisation, but very short integrations in intensity.