Super- and multi-directive acoustic radiation by linear global modes of a turbulent jet

Abstract

The mean flow stability of a Mach 0.9 turbulent jet is investigated by means of global linear theory with a focus on acoustic effects. A novel class of resonant acoustic modes that are trapped within the potential core, and whose eigenvalues appear as discrete branches in the global stability spectrum, is studied in detail. A dispersion relation is reconstructed from the global modes, and shown to accurately predict energy bands observed in the PSD of a high-fidelity LES. Similarly, the acoustic far-field radiation patterns of the trapped modes are compared to the LES. A favorable agreement between the global mode waveforms and coherent structures educed from the LES is found for both the trapped acoustic wave component inside the core and the far-field radiation.