Prediction of flow-control devices' noise with modified acoustic perturbation equations

Fluid-dynamic noise emissions produced by flow-control devices inside ducts are a concerning issue for valve manufacturers and pipeline management. This work proposes a modified formulation of Acoustic Perturbation Equations (APE) that is applicable to industrial frameworks where the interest is addressed to noise prediction according to international standards. This formulation is derived from a literature APE system removing two terms allowing for a computational time reduction of about 20%. The physical contribution of the removed terms is discussed according to the literature. The modified APE are applied to the prediction of the noise emitted by an orifice. The reliability of the new APE system is evaluated by comparing the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) and the acoustic pressure with the ones returned by LES and literature APE. The new formulation agrees with the other methods far from the orifice: moving over nine diameters downstream of the trailing edge, the SPL is in accordance with the other models. Since international standards characterize control devices with the noise measured 1 m downstream of them, the modified APE formulation provides reliable and faster noise prediction for those devices with outlet diameter, d, such that 9d < 1 m.