Attenuation of sound in a low Mach number nozzle flow

The energy conversion mechanisms which govern the emission of low frequency sound from an axisymmetric jet pipe of arbitrary nozzle contraction ratio in the case of low Mach number nozzle flow are discussed. The energy of the incident sound which flows through the nozzle is used to maintain two distinct characteristic disturbances in the exterior fluid. First, there is the emitted radiation which has the directivity equivalent to that of a monopole-dipole combination. Second, essentially incompressible vortex waves are induced on the jet by vortex shedding from the lip of the nozzle and may involve the excitation of instability modes. Two linearized analytical models are examined to determine the partition of the emitted energy between the radiation field and the vortex waves. One of these is an exact linear theory in which the jet boundary is treated as a vortex sheet. The second model assumes that the width of the mean shear layer of the jet cannot be neglected. The results are discussed with reference to recent nozzle attenuation measurements.