Powell TH Vortex Sound

THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
ACOUSTICAL
SOCIETY
OF AMERICA
VOLUME
36, NUMBER
JANUARY
1964
Theory of Vortex Sound*
ALLANPOWELLLL
l
Aerosonics
Laboratory,Departmentof Engineering,Universityof California, Los Angeles,California90024
(Received24 September1963)
Physicalargumentsare followedby mathematicaldevelopments

to showhow aerodynamicsoundis generated as a result of the movementof vortices,or of vorticity, in an unsteadyfluid flow. Changesin circulation
or area of a vortex ring give riseto a dipolesoundfield, the former beingillustrated by oscillatingflow about
a fixedsphere,and the latter by a simplemodelfor the aeoliantone attributable to the stretchingof vortex
rings. Becausein a free flow there can be no changeof the total vortex strength (circulationtimes area),
there is no net dipolestrength,but eachmovingelementof vorticity still causesa localdipolelikeflow; each
element of moving vorticity acts with someequal and oppositemovement elsewherein the flow so that
together they form an oblique quadrupole,although the total effect must be reducible to an assemblyof
lateral quadrupoles.A cardinalresult is that the vorticity in a slightly compressible
fluid can be considered
to induce the whole flow field, both the hydrodynamicpart and the acousticpart. With vorticity taken as
the commonbasis,a slightly compressible
flow is comparedto the corresponding
incompressible
one, which
may be used in the evaluation of the sound-radiationformula. The theory is particularly well-structured
to estimatesoundfrom flowsdescribedin terms of vorticity: the soundfield is determinedfor two rectilinear
vorticesspinningaboutan axisbetweenthem, and its basisfor similarity methodsis demonstratedin application to free shearflow and jet flow.
INTRODUCTION
problems. One aspect of special importance soon

appeared;namely, that it becamepossibleto take the
broad and very fundamentalview that vorticityinduces
thewholeflowfield, of whichthedistantacoustic
field is an
integralpart. Here then is the crux of the matter' when
the fluid is compressible,
the very actionthat causesthe
formation of vortices, or eddies, also simultaneously
givesriseto the soundradiation.
The subjectof soundgenerationby a fluid flow is a
somewhat treacherous one, particularly so far as
apparentlyplausiblephysicalargumentsare concerned:
Rigorousmathematicalsupportis essentialso that one
may be sure of the ultimate effect of all the approximationsinvolved. A hint of the compatibility between
the presenttheory and Lighthill's is evident from the
sourceterm of Lighthill's theory being the nonlinear
onerisingfrom the momentumequation,the very term
associatedwith vorticity transferand with the transfer
of turbulent energyfrom one wavenumberto another,
or, we can say, with eddy formation.
Part I concernsaerodynamicsound of the dipole
type, associatedwith changein strength of vortices.
Section1 briefly outlinesthe more important relevant
historicalaspects,terminatingwith the classicalresultof
incompressiblehydrodynamicsthat a vortex ring
BSERVATION
ofatafirst,
commonplace
phenomenon,
perhaps casually
sometimes
leads to a
new line of inquiry. It is commonlyacceptedthat it is
the eddyingof a flow that producessound;but while
watching a locomotive blow off steam soon after
becominginterestedin the subjectof aerodynamically
generatednoise,the author was struckby the fact that
eachtime that a particularlylarge eddy formedon the
edgeof the turbulent steamjet he hearda very definite
impulsivesound.This focussed
attentionupon the idea
that the origin of aerodynamicsound might be attributedto the process
offormationof eddies,or vortices.
The theory described here was developed along
physical lines, particular attention being paid to
relativelysimpleflows,sincesubsequent
applicationto
more-complexsituations then posesno fundamental
* This paper includesmaterial presentedat the Philadelphia
Meeting of the AcousticalSociety ['seeJ. Acoust. Soc. Am. 33,
849(A) (1961)] and at the Cincinnati meeting ['seeJ. Acoust.
Soc. Am. 33, 1672(A) (1961)], and is a revision of "Vortex
Sound," Univ. Calif., Los Angeles,Dept. Eng. Rept. 61-70

(Oct. 1961).
Also,Consultant,DouglasAircraft Company,SantaMonica,
Calif.
177
Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://acousticalsociety.org/content/terms. Download to IP: 202.3.77.91 On: Wed, 22 Apr 2015
05:00:39
178
ALAN
POWELL
behaveslike a dipolesheet.This is extendedby physical

argumentsto yield the soundradiation in a slightly
compressible
flow, in Sec.2, while Sec.3 is devotedto a
rigorousdevelopmentfrom the equationsof motion.
Section4 containsapplications:the soundproducedby
an oscillatingsphere,by a flowoscillatingabouta fixed
sphere,and by aeoliantones,for whicha very simple
model is given (the edgetonehaving been treated
previously).
Part II concernsthe soundof free aerodynamicflows,
which is shown to be of the quadrupoletype, by
physicalargumentin Sec.5 andby formaldevelopment
in Sec. 6. The "three-sound-pressures
theorem" is
derivedfor the theory, showingthat the assemblyof
apparentlygenerallyobliquequadrupoles
must always
Part I:
SOUND
FROM
be reducibleto a set of only lateral ones.It is inferred

that soundradiation must result in a spread of the
vortex motion. The theory is applied in Sec. 7 to
determinethe soundradiation from spinningvortices,
and in conjunctionwith the vorticity transporttheory
of turbulent mixing is applied to shear and jet flow
to yield similarity relationshipsfor the sound-powergeneration distribution and power spectra. In the
concludingsection, Sec. 8, it is noted how existing
methodsmay be usedto extendthe rangeof usefulness
of the methodto flowsof high-convective
Mach number,
and how, while providinga simplephysicalpicture of
the generationmechanism,the method is especially
suitedto estimatingthe soundfrom flowsthat can be
describedin terms of the vorticity.
CHANGES
1. FOUNDATIONS
Perhapsthe most-familiareddy pattern of all is that

in the wakebehinda cylinder,depictedin the schematic
Fig. 1, while the whistling of telephonewires is a
very familiar sound of aerodynamicorigin. As we
shall see, a point of view closely associatedwith
pioneeringresearchesin aerodynamicand acoustic
theory showshow they are intimately and directly
IN
VORTEX
STRENGTH
describedby BnardTMand by Mallock,5 whichis now

often referred to as a Krmn vortex street (Wirbel-
strasse),in recognitionof the study concerningthe

stabilityof a givenpattern of point vortices.
.7
Rayleigh had noted that the soundof aeolian tones

has its maxima perpendicularto the wind direction,s
just as Stowelland Deming were to find later for their
rotating rod.He had alsonoted that the wire neednot
vibrate,but if it did, then it did soperpendicularly
to
connected.
the
wind
direction,
0
and
that
"it
was
evident
all
along
The aeoliantone,i.e., the soundgeneratedby a wire
heldin a wind, attractedscientific
interestlongbefore that the origin of vibration was connectedwith the
the eddying flow itself did, Strouhal'sname being instability of the vortex sheetswhich tend to form on
"We nowrecognize
that
perpetuatedasa resultof hisquantitativeobservations the two sidesof the obstacle.
his
observations
imply
that
the
direction
of
the
flucof the frequency.
' Rayleigh consideredthat the nonwith that of the
dimensional
frequency,i.e., the Strouhalnumber,could tuatingfluid forceon the wire coincides
most-intense sound.
beexpressed
asa functionof onlythe Reynoldsnumber
of airfoil theorywaslaid by Kutta and
of theflow,'Sf,asappears
probable,
the compressibility A cornerstone
Joukowsky
n
when
they explainedthe origin of the
of thefluidmaybeleft outofaccount,
"aa viewaccepted
ever sincefor flowsof smallMach numberand upon aerodynamicforce F, which acts on a cylinder of
which all of the relevant aerodynamic-sound
studies lengthb in the directionnormalto the windvelocityU,
have beenbased.However,it was apparentlyleft to in termsof the circulationr aboutthe cylinder
Bnard to explicitly connectStrouhal'stone with the
F=parÛb,
(1)
eddy pattern of the wake,4 whichhad been "clearly
where pa is the fluid density. The constancyof the
circulationaboutthe circuitsmovingwith the flowhad
beendiscussed
at lengthby Kelvin1'and this implied
4 H. Bdnard,Cornpt.Rend. 147, 970 (1908).
A. Mallock,Proc.Roy.Soc.(London)A84,490 (1910).
6T. von Krmn, Nachr.Akad.Wiss.GSttingen,
Math.-Phys.
K1. 5, 547 (1912).
Fro. 1. Illustration of the alternateeddy pattern behinda

cylinderwith its corresponding
alternatingcirculation,which is
T. yonKrm6nandH. Rubach,Phys.Z. 13,49 (1912).

s Lord Rayleigh,Phil. Mag. 7, 161 (1879).
E. Z. Stowell
andA. F. Deming,
"VortexNoisefromRotating
Rods,"Natl.Advisory
Comm.Aeron.
Tech.NoteNo.519(1935).
0LordRayleigh,
Phil.Mag.29,433(1915);7, 149(1879).
E.G. Richardsonattributed the phrase "aeolian tone" to
n Anaccessible
account
ofthiswork,datingfrom1902,isgiven
AthanasiusKirkner, 1620.It formerlyappliedto a wire that was inAerodynamic
Theory,
W. F. Durand,
editor(Durand
Reprinting
to be associatedwith the generationof the aeolian tone.
allowedto vibrateunderthe influenceof the aerodynamic

forces; Committee,1943), Vol. 1, Div. D by R. Giacomelliand E.
modern usage is more in referenceto wires that are constrained
from vibration.
V. Strouhal,Wied. Ann. Phys.5, 216 (1878).

aLord Rayleigh, Theoryof Sound (Dover Publications,Inc.,
New York, 1945), 2nd ed.
Pistolesi;
seealsoSelected
Workson WingTheory
of SergiA.
Chaplygin,
transl. by GarbellResearchFoundation(San
Francisco,
1956).Chaplygin
wasa pupilofJoukowsky.
1.o
SeeH. Lamb,Hydrodynamics
(DoverPublications,
Inc.,
NewYork, 1945),6th ed.,Chap.2.
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
SOUND
i79
that the eddy cast off the wake must be accompaniedby a changeof circulationof the opposite
magnitude about the cylinder. Thus, as eddies of
alternating circulation, --21' and d-21', are cast off
from the cylinder, the circulation about the latter
alternates between +1' and --1', with a resultant
alternatingfluid forcenormal to the wind direction,in

line with Rayleigh's observationand which would be
given by Eq. (1) if the eddiesin the wake were far

enoughdownstream.
Rayleigh3 and Lamb4 had discussedthe acoustic
dipole,and had shownhow a dipolefield is generated
by the fore-and-aftdisplacementof fluid causedby the
vibration of a rigid sphereor cylinder (see Fig. 2),
calculatingthe fluid forcesthat are to be associated
with the soundfield with its maxima in the plane of
vibration. This is of significance,obvious now, in
aeolian-tonetheory; temporarily,we leave our present
line of developmentto follow the one hinging directly
on it.
Fro. 3. Streamlinesdue to a rectangularvortex ring of great

length normal to the paperplane,left, are identical to those of a
correspondingvortex sheet,right. Thus, the streamlinesof Fig. 2
may also be consideredto be generatedby either a small dipole
sheetor a smallvortexring at the centerof the sphericalsurface.
an equal but oppositeforceactingdirectlyon an otherwise still fluid. Though not explicitly stated, Yudin's
suppositionis also the basisof the analysisof Etkin,
Korbacher,and Keefe, in which it is supposedthat the
cylindercouldbe effectivelyreplacedby fluid subjected
to a body force so as to prevent its motion,7 this body
force then being supposedto generatesoundjust as it
would if it were free to act on a stationary acoustic
medium.
Yudin's Supposition
Yudin seizedupon the overt similaritiesbetweenthe

aeoliantoneand the acousticdipole.He felt "obligedto
supposethat the origin of vortex noise lies in the
variable forceactingon themediumduring the flow past
a body."5 He did not explicitly discussthe fluctuating
lift force,but inferred that the pressureon the cylinder
must be dependenton the strength(circulation)of the
eddiesin the wake. He went on to deduce, correctly,
that the soundpower would vary with the sixth power
of the bind velocity, his dimensionalanalysis even
includingthe casewhen the forceis "incoherent"along
the length of the cylinder.Blokhintsevlater developed
a more sophisticatedstatementof the result,6 making
use of Kirchhoff's surface-integralformula, but this
treatment really also restson Yudin's supposition.We
may now state this as follows: If a relatively small,
fixed,and rigid body in a movingfluid sustainsa certain
fluid force,then the resultantsoundradiationrelatively
far from it is the same as that which would result from
With encouragementfrom Lighthill's theory,s,a

formulation in terms of a surface-dipoledistribution
was suggested,the local-dipolestrengthbeing directly
associatedwith the total fluid stress (i.e., including
viscousstress)actingon the surface.

soLater, Curle
showedhow this resultfollowsformallyfrom Lighthill's
theory2;thus, Yudin's suppositionnow has a firm and
unambiguoustheoreticalbasis.22
ExperimentalVerification
So far as making accurate estimates of the fluid
force in relation to the soundfield attributed to it, the
aeolian tone itself still presents severe difficulties,
althoughPhillips found that an estimateof the normal
force, thought to be good to a factor of two or so,
resultedin calculatedsoundpressuresas consistentas
could be expectedwith measurement2a
The mechanismby which the soundof edgetonesis
generatedrests on an exactly similar fundamental
basis,but it happensto be very well suited for direct
7B. Etkin, G. K. Korbacher, and R. T. Keefe, "Acoustic

Radiation from a StationaryCylinder in a Fluid Stream (Aeolian
Tones)," Univ. Toronto Inst. Aerophys.Rept. No. 39 (1956);
seealsoJ. Acoust.Soc.Am. 29, 30 (1957). Sinceonly the pointsourceapproximationis considered,there is no advantage in
distributing the fluid force over the cylinder.
M. J. Lighthill, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London)A211, 564 (1952).
0M. J. Lighthill, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) A222, 1 (1954);
its maxima in the direction of
seefootnoteon p. 2.
the axis of oscillation.
0Alan Powell, "Thoughtson BoundaryLayer Noise," Aeron.
Res. Council,London,Rept. 16727 (Apr. 1954).
N. Curle, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London) A231, 505 (1955).
aReference3, p. 247.
Yudin's suppositionwas plausible,but equally sowould have
4Reference 12, p. 510.
beenonethat dependson the bodybeingvibratedin the stationary
5E. . udin, Zh. Tekhn. Fiz. 14, 561 (1945); transl. issuedas acousticmedium so that the force experiencedby it is the same.
"On the Vortex Soundof Rotating Rods," Natl. AdvisoryComm. Superficiallysimilar,theseplausiblereasonings
lead to important
Aeron.Tech. Mem. No. 1136 (1947); presentauthor'sitalics.
quantitative differencesdue to the inertia of the displacedfluid
6D. I. Blokhintsev (1946), "Acousticsof a Nonhomogeneous not beingincludedin the latter case,resultingin a spuriousfactor
Moving Medium," (transl.) Natl. Advisory Comm. Aeron. Tech. of 3 in the sound-pressure
formula.
Mem. No. 1399 (1956).
aO. M. Phillips, J. Fluid Mech. 1, 607 (1956).
FiG. 2. Instantaneous
stream-
lines of the hydrodynamicfield

of a dipole,representedasbeing
due to the displacements
causedby oscillation of a rigid
sphere.The far sound field, in
the compressible
flow case,has
05:00:39
180
ALAN
POWELL
simultaneousmeasurementof the fluid force acting on same shapeas the vortex loop."s The parallel is illusthe edgeand of the soundfield. Careful measurements, trated in Fig. 3; it may be provenas follows:
with discrepancies
of only a few percent at low Mach
The velocity u at any point x in the first situation is
numbersover an appreciablespeedrange, disclosean given by
almost-perfectdipole directionality,with the intensity
related to the fluid force accordingto the theory."4
There is no room for doubt about the validity of the
theoretical
results? '5
This is the casewhen the cylinder is small as comparedto a wavelength.But, if the surfaceis plane,asit
becomeslargethe dipoleeffectdue to pressurevanishes,
the only dipoleeffectremainingbeingthat dueto shear
stresses.,.5,20
Needfor an AlternativeModel
u(x)=---- -^dl(y)
=----
^dl(y),
(2)
wherer= x--y and I is measured

alongthe vortexin
the directionof r. The subscriptin Vu is to remove
ambiguityin its operationon r-. We usea variation on
Kelvin'stransformation
(Stoke'stheorem),introducing
the surfaces surroundedby the loop of r, and follow
this by the ordinary expansionof the triple-vector
product, to find that
Although Yudin's suppositionhas been thoroughly

vindicated both theoreticallyand experimentally,it
really tellsextraordinarilylittle of the actualmechanism
by whichthe soundis produced,for the aforementioned
fluctuatingforceis clearlyof the natureof an equivalent
=-(y),
soundsource.The fluctuatingforce itself, in the real
situation, cannot possiblygenerate acousticenergy,
1
sinceit acts at a rigid surface?
'.'7
The acousticenergy
(3)
can only comefrom the movingfluid itself, presumably
from that part most intimately associatedwith the
eddy shedding. We, therefore, now return to our Since we may put u(x)=-Vx in regionsof zero
originalline of development,for this leadsto a direct vorticity,we recognize
herethe velocitypotentialqof a
connection between the fluid motion and the sound
dipolesurfacedistribution,of strengthP, and directed
that it generates.
with the normal g, as stated.
If the point of observationx is far off in terms of the
Equivalence of Vortex Rings and
loop size, we can ignore the variation in r over the
Dipole Sheets
surfaceand write r'x, so that Eq. (3) simplifiesto
The bridge betweenthe classicalaerodynamicand
u(x) = Vx(1/4,r)D. V,(1/x),
(4)
acousticaspectsis that the incompressible
velocityfield
inducedby a closedvortex loop, the vortex having a providedthat the originis in the immediateneighborconstantcirculationr, is exactly the sameas that due hoodof the loop.In this expression,
D is the strength
to a uniformdipoledistribution,of strengthF per unit of the equivalent
point dipole (which is also equal to
area, over any surfacewhosesingleboundary has the yZ,in thelimit,where
y isthedistance
between
equal
rf
u(x)4'
(!)
andopposite
monopoles
of volumeflowrate1?),and
,.4Alan Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 33, 395 (1961); for details,
seeH. H. Unfried, M. S. thesisin Eng., Univ. Calif., Los Angeles
u=rfas(y)=rs.(x)
(1960).
,.5The early conceptualdoubtsexpressed

in Ref. 20 are totally
resolvedby the experimentalwork of Ref. 24 and the theory of
Ref. 26 and of J. E. Ffowcs Williams, "Thoughtson the Problem
of Aerodynamic
NoiseSources
nearSolidBoundaries,"
presented
at an AGARD MeetingBrussels,
1-5 April 1963[-AGARDRept.
(to be published)I, their resurrectionby W. C. Meecham,J.
Acoust.Soc. Am. 35, 116 and 931 (1961) notwithstanding,as
explainedby Alan Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 35, 731 (1961) and
This classical
resultthat the dipolestrengthis the same
as the vortexstrength(circulationtimesarea)is a key
to the present theory. We also note that the total
momentumof the fluidM is givenby
J. E. Ffowcs Williams, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 35, 930 (1961). The
M=paD=paFs.
vanishingof the pressuredipolesoundfor an infinite plane is

easily seen by using the image system of the vortex motions
discussed
subsequently.Williams' report estimatesthe diameter
of a flat plate at which the pressure-dipole

contributionbecomes
negligiblysmall; his value of 200 wavelengths
is unexpectedly
large.
6Alan Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 32, 982 (1960).

7Alan Powell, "Theory and Experiment in Aerodynamic
Noise, with a Critique of Research on Jet Flows and Their
Relationshipto Sound," SecondSymposiumon Naval Hydrodynamics, 1958, ACR-38, Office of Naval Research--U. S.
Departmentof the Navy, Washington,D.C. (unpublished).
2. DIPOLE
RADIATION
VORTEX-RING
FROM
CHANGES
STRENGTH
(6)
IN
The identificationof the flow inducedby a vortex

loop with a dipolefield is for incompressible
flow. If,
instead,we take the flow to be slightlycompressible,
,.8E.g., Ref. 12, p. 212.
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
SOUND
181
In the first instance,we have

but with almostexactlythe samevelocityfield in the
neighborhood
of the source(i.e.,the vortexloop),then
u (x)= (/4-xc2)sdr/dtq *,
(0)
we makethe assertion(provedin Sec.3) that in place
for an individual vortex. If instead of discrete vortices
of Eq. (4) we havefor compressible
flow
there is a continuousdistribution of vorticity over the
u(x)
.
4,r
(7)
4r
Here, the time-delay operator 1' fully accountsfor

the changesbrought about by allowingthe fluid to
have compressibility.
It is definedby
D (t) 1'-- D (t)* = D (t--'/a).
(8)
surfaceconcerned,
Eq. (10) canberewrittenin the form
of an integral over vorticesof elementarystrength,
equalto the localsheartimesthe elementarylength.
In the secondinstance,taking the circulationP to be
constant,we needan expression
for dSs/dF,whichis
easilyfound: Let eachpart of the vortex loop move
with local velocity u, so after a short time bt each
element al will cause an increase in area as=uâl.at
(seeFig. 4). Then, we have
If D(t) is sinusoidal,D(t)=Doe i"'t,then 1' reducesto

e-ilar,
Althoughthis stepmay appearboth noveland large,
it is, in fact, like a standardoneusedin acoustical-source
theory. It may be justifiedby noting that the streamlines of Fig. 2 are valid also for the point dipole in
compressible
flow [-Eq. (7) solongas the wavelength
is largeenoughas comparedto the sizeof the spherical
surface. The streamlines within the surface are the same
as if the fluid within wereincompressible,

and so they
must be the same as those due to a vortex ring at the
center. The motion at the surfacebeing the same, the
fieldsoutsidethe surfacemust alsobe the same.so(The
exact theoryshowsthat theseprovisionsare too severe'
the vortex loop has to be only small as comparedto

the wavelength.)
For simplicity,we now temporarilyrestrictattention
to the radiatedfar soundfield.The velocityperturbation
in it is foundimmediatelyby expandingEq. (7) out
and retainingonly the term in r----x-'
u(x) =
(rs)3
4-ca Ot
= * F(rs.)l*
Fd-d
d(r(u^dl)l*
u(x)=4,rxc/L
4rXCa
2
(rû)a.
If, instead of idealisticvortex lines in the flow, we

considera distributionof the vorticity/: in the fluid, the
integralnaturallyextendsoverthe wholevolumewhere
tis nonzero.Then, on introducingE= tû, we have
u(x)= --
? 'dV(y)*,
4-C
a x
(12)
where the prime indicatespartial differentiationwith

respectto time. We seethat the soundradiationoccurs
because the
acceleration of a vortex
element
in
direction normal to its axis causesa local fluctuating
dipolelikeflow,assuggested
in Fig. 4. Thus,for example,
change
in the rate of stretchingof a planering generates
a dipolefar fieldwith the soundmaximanormalto that
plane.
(9)
wheres= s cos(s).
Thus, the farfield perturbation is proportional to
d(I's)/dt, i.e., to the time differentialof the rate of
changeof the vortex strength(circulationtimesarea)
Fro. 4. Moving at velocity u through time at, a vortex element
as seenfrom the point of observationx; becauseof al actslike an elementaryvortex ring of strengthr,s= r (nat)^
to the originalvortexring and neighboringelements,three
Eq. (6), it is alsoproportionalto the time differential Added
sidesof the elementcancel,leavingonly the elementral in the new
of the rate of changeof the fluid momentum in the position.
direction 3.
The physical-implication
aspectsof Eq. (9)may be
A vortex
in the fluid moves with
the local-fluid
revealedbest by first consideringthe caseof constant velocityu(y). On the otherhand, the circulationabout
a fixed cylinder can be consideredto behave like a
area s and then of constant circulation P.
vortexexceptthat it is boundto the cylinder,not being
free to drift with the flow? Thus, we speakof free and
,.0This suggeststhe matching of an acousticfield at a boundary
may
enclosingan incompressibleflow field; see (a) Alan Powell, boundvortices,and the vortexloopjust considered
"Mechanisms of Aerodynamic Sound Production," presented at
an AGARD meeting, Brussels,1-5 April 1963 [AGARD Rept.
(to be published), and, for details of the method, (b) Alan
Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 35, 1133(1963).
0This doesnot generallymean that a bound vortex shouldbe

consideredto be motionless,sinceits effective center is somewhat
variable within the cylinder boundary.
05:00:39
182
ALAN
PO WE L L
be partly boundand partly free.In fact, for thereto be

The exact equationof continuity,in the absenceof
any radiationof dipolecharacterfrom a vortex ring sourcesof matter, is
of givencirculationr, requiringa changeof areaof the
Op/Ot+v. (pu)=0,
vortexloop,part of the vortexring must be bound.
or
Sincesoundradiationto distantpointsis causedby
Op/Ogq(U' V)p--pV'U= 0.
(18)
changesin vortex strength, vortexsoundis a very
appropriatename for such radiation. In reality, of
The exact equationof motion for an inviscidfluid,
course,line vorticesdo not occur;instead,the vorticity in the absenceof impressed
forces,is
occupiesa finite volume,and it is easilyappreciated
Ou/Otq-(u. V)u-t-(1/p)Vp--0,
(19)
that the foregoingargumentsmay be appliedto thin
tubesof constantcirculationdrawn in the flow, their or, by virtue of Eq. (15),
sum being equivalent to some line vortex. The term
vortex sound is also meant to refer to this latter case of
Ou/Ot+g+ Vu"+ (1/p)Vp= 0.
(20)
distributed,finite, vorticity.
This can be put in anotherform by multiplyingEq.
(19) by and Eq. (17) by u and adding:
Effect of Moving Surfaces
O(pu)/Ot+I7. (,ouu)+17p=0.
(21)
In the foregoingsectiondealingwith changingvorticity at a surface,no accountwas taken of possible The fluid may be gasor liquid. The actionthroughout
movementof the surfacenormal to itself or, from the is assumed
to beisentropic,soanypressure
changemust
point of view of generaltheory, of the movementsof be accompanied
by a densitychangerelatedto it by the
fluid acrosssomesurfacedrawnin the flow. Assuming squareof the adiabatic soundspeed.Then, we have,
suchmovementsto be small, the effectcan be wholly for example,
represented
by a surfacedistributionof monopoles,
so
that the corresponding
velocityperturbationfar away
Vp=
17E62(p--Pa),
(22)
r...,a
217p.
is given by
u(x)=
where u=u.,
4rrXCa
u,'dS(y)*,
Here,cais the speedof soundin the ambientatmosphere.

(13) The approximationinvolvedin Eq. (22) can be easily
justifieda posterJori
if sodesired.
being the outwards normal to the

Differential Equations in Terms of Pressure
closed surface S.
If there is zero total flow of fluid out of the closed
Here, we work in termsof the pressure(or density)

surfaceS, the valueof this integralis zero.In this event,
and desireto obtain the inhomogeneous
waveequation,
the dipoleapproximationmust be used:
the right-handsideof whichis to be interpretedas the
sourcestrength,just as Rayleigh did in his pioneering
u(x)= yxu,,"dS(y)*,
(14) analysisof soundscatteringand as Lighthill did in the
4rrXCa2
caseof aerodynamic-noise
generation.Write the wave
operatoractingon the left-handside,and with the help
the dipolestrengthbeingmadeup of equalandopposite of Eq. (22) use the continuity equation, (17), to
monopoleelementsdistributed on S.3
transform the other side:
In the next section, these formulas are derived
172p_(1/Ca2)O2p/Ot2=
V' 17pqV.O(pu)/Ot. (23)
rigorouslyfrom the equationsof motion. Following
this, in Sec.4, are applicationsof Eqs. (9), (11), and
Expandthe last term and useEq. (20) to obtain
(13), to which somereadersmay wish to proceed
directly.
[2"p= - 17-(pg+ 17pl/t2-utp/0t-l/t2Vp).(24)

3. FORMAL
DEVELOPMENT
Basic Equations
First, note two very usefulvector identities:
(u. v)u- (V,,u),,u.

V^ (Vû)= 17(V.u)-- 172u.
(16)
All the mathematicaldevelopments

are basedon the
fundamental relationshipsconcerningcontinuity of
matter, motion,and soundspeed.
E.g., seeRef. 29(b), Eqs. (28) and (29).
With a view to simplification,comparethe ordersof

magnitude of the various sourceterms, all of which
are subject to the single divergence operator. The
density variations can be taken to be due to kinetic
compression
only, so they are of order pa(?',where
is the Mach number,typically u/ca. The sourceterms
then bear the ratios
1:1: $Jll;
2:Jll;
2,
where$ is the Strouhalnumber,typicallywL/u (L being

a typical length in the flow). Then, providedat least
one of the first two terms doesnot degeneratein the
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
final form of the solution,the last two terms can be

safelydroppedfor low-speedflowshaving $lrQ<<land
s<<l. The equationnowis in the form that we desire'
[2sp= _ V. (p+ VpuS).
SOUND
183
[-O(pu)/at+ vP-](l*lr)dS (y)

--/,go+,goo
-+-/
p.V(l*/r)dV(y)
--[-/
VpuS'
V(I*/r)dV
(y).
(25)
Solution
with
Surfaces
Present
(27)
The differentialequationis being interpretedas the
inhomogeneous
wave equation,for which the terms on
the right-hand side are prescribed;they then give the
strength of the sinplesourcedistribution throughout By using the divergencetheorem, the last integral
alone becomes
the flow. They producethe particular integral to which
the complementaryfunctionmust be added,so that we
o
have
V'/p
(l*/r)']dV(y)
=-p(x)
4r 0V' (pe+Vpu)
dV (y)
--/v
puVy'
V(l*/r)dV
(y)
o
-+---
(VP)n
4r 0
--
dS(y)
-[--'j;oP[V,(1')]
4r
-- /S(y).(26)
p L_ (l*/x)']dS (y)
'--/So+Soo
+/v'-""'(l*/r)dV(y
(28)
The volume integrationrangesover all spacewhere the

integrand is not negligible.However, the contribution
of the secondterm in the integrandis shownlater to be
negligible,so the volume must simply contain all the
vorticity. The closedsurfaceSo lies entirely within the
flow and is the only surface that we have to consider
here,assincethe surfaceS2,providingclosureof V0 may
be placedat infinity and so contributesnothing, on the
usual basis that it can be taken beyond any point to
which any disturbanceshave propagated.The surface
S00,introducedshortly, separatesthe volume V0 from
the surroundingacousticmedium.
We now use the divergencetheorem to remove the
divergenceoperator in the volume integral. Thus, we
Note that the surface S00 between the flow and the
surroundingstationary acousticmedium can be chosen
so that the acousticalrelationshipO(pu)/OtpaOu/Ot

=- Vp applies;then, the termsinvolvingg, pus and
Vpus on that surfaceare all negligible.The general
solution,therefore,is
have
v[-V.
(pg
+Vpu
')-]
(l*/r)dV
(y)
(29)
=/vV'[-(p
+-su2X
(1,/r)
]d
V(y)
--/v(P'--VPU2)
'VY(i*/r)dV
(y)'
(1) A volumedistributionof dipoles,whosestrength
is proportionalto the vorticity motiong, as the physical
=/s (Pg-kVPUS)'(l*/r)dV(y)
(2) A volumedistributionof nondirectionalsources,
of monopoleof strengthper unit volume proportional
-/v
(Pg+VpuS)'
vx(l*/r)dV(y)'
to (1/caS)(Os/OF)ou
s (whichcouldbe expressed
as the
o
vp
The pressureperturbationis thus attributable to the

sum of four parts'
argument suggested,
o+ Soo
a.A surfaceonly partly immersedin the flow may be treated by

the method of Ref. 26.
sum of three mutually perpendicular longitudinal
.pau
quadrupoles
of strengths
2).
05:00:39
184
ALAN
POWELL
(3) A surfacedistributionof dipolesover the solid Strouhalnumbermust be small enough.In the general
surfacein the flow, the strengthbeing proportionalto case,the methodsof hydrodynamicsmay be used to
the local Bernoullipressure(Bernoulli's"constant"). evaluatethe surfaceintegralfor any chosenflow model.
The last term (30c), showshow the total flow across
(4) A monopole(simplesource)distributionover
that same surface due to its motion normal to itself.
the boundary--i.e., the movement of the boundary
itself if it is impervious--generates
soundlike a monopole in this approximationof long wavelength.If there
Farfield Approximation
is no net flow, the dipoleapproximation--namely,Eq.
With the origin placed somewherein V0, the condi- (14)--must be used;while if the surfaceis impervious
tion $<<1 enablesthe most simple farfield approxi- and fixed, then un--0 and the term then vanishes.
mations to be made. The secondterm is of one higher
Thoughof very differentform, the resultis consistent
order in 2; than is the first, and, sincewe are taking with Lighthill's theory in which the dipole sound is
<<1, it is considerednegligible. Also, the relative expressed
in termsof the stresses(which can often be
error incurred by taking the density to be constant well enoughrepresented
by the pressure)at the surface,
is only of relative orderV'; this we do. Consequently, which,of course,in turn have to be determinedfor any
we may write, for the far field,
given flow. The equivalencemay be shownby using
p(x)=4,rxc
Ot odV(y)*
(30a)
the equationof motion in the form Eq. (20), substituting for g in the precedingresult, and followingby
using the divergencetheorem and observingthat the
total force applied to the fluid by the solid surfaces
must equal the rate of change of total momentum.
The volume integral vanishes, and the remaining
surfaceintegralis then equal to the total forcereacted
by the solid surface. Thus, the experimental data
mentionedin Sec. 1 supportthe presenttheory just as
well as they supportLighthill's theory.
I 0s(P-+-Pau2)gdS(y)*
(30b)
o.0fsundS(y)*.
(30c)
4-xc. Ot
4-x Ot
4. INSTANCES
OF DIPOLE
RADIATION
The first term concernsthe motion of vorticity in the
volumeof the flow, the second,as we shallsee,concerns
Oscillating Sphere
vorticity at the boundariesof the flow.
With regard to the integrandof the secondterm, we
Although the presentconceptshave been developed
find from Eq. (20) that
with special reference to aerodynamicallygenerated
sound, we choose to illustrate how time-varying
vorticity at a boundary can be consideredto induce
sound,via the term (30b) or its moresimpleform, Eq.

p-+-p,u
=--p,
f (Ou/Ot-3-g).dy
(31)
(10), by applicationto the problemof the oscillating
in the incompressible
approximation.The line integral rigid sphere,the classictreatmentof whichhasalready
lies on the surfaceSo, and both t and u at the surface been mentioned in Sec. 1. Moving surfaces being
involved, this problem consequentlydraws also upon
are parallelto it, sothat 2.dy=0. Hence,here
Eq. (14), the dipoleapproximation

to the term (29c).
The first term (29a), is zero here becausethe field has

nonzerovorticity only at the surfaceof the sphere.
p-+p,u
-pa
(d/dt)
f u.dy. (32)Let therigidsphereof radiusa (Fig.2) vibratesinusoidallywith smallamplitudeat velocityU= U0eit;the
Now, u is the magnitude of the total rate of shear at velocity componentof the surfacenormalto itself is Un
the rigid surface;we can thereforesay that this dipole -U cos(g/).It is easyto showthattheincompressidistribution (30b), arises becauseof the changing bility condition requires that there be a velocity
distributionof vorticity at the surface.It is the generali- tangential
to thesurface
ofmagnitude
Us=U sin(gO)
zationof Eq. (10).
relative to the undisturbedfluid and lying in the local
The integrandof this secondterm is proportionalto plane of the surfaceand the axis of vibration U.
what may be called the local Bernoulli pressure The action of the spheremay be representedby a
(p-+-p,u
')at thesurface.Forsteadyflow,theBernoulli vortex sheet,associatedwith the shearvelocity U8 at
pressureis constant,so the term obviouslythen is zero. the surface, together with a source distribution asIt follows that under some circumstances the first term
sociatedwith the normal velocity U at the surface,
alone may be an acceptableapproximationif the flow both beingreckonedrelativeto a stationarycontrolsurvaries slowly enough.i.e., quasisteadyfor which the faceSo.The formermay be picturedas beingmadeup
vortexringsof area ,ra sin
(nU)
AA and of
Bernoullipressureis unvarying.In other words,the of infinitesimal
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
SOUND
185
circulation
Usad(). Equation(10)maybeput into gratingover a large sphere'
the appropriateform and the integrationcarriedout'
p_- 27r.4
( V b2/A4)J]c4
( U12-11Uv.2.-]lU82).
(39)
S cos( O0)dr*
Here, Vb is the volumeof the sphericalbody; the three

velocity componentsmay not be all in phase. This
result is evidently easily generalizedfor nonsinusoidal
time variations, and is valid for conveeredflows that
sina( 0o)d( [7o)*,
8XCa
may be consideredto be "hydrodynamic,"by which is
mean_t
that the velocity field may he oqtirnntodjust
as
if
the
soundspeedwere infinite, which requiresthat
(33)
-Uo/a<<l
and Yrc<<l.
aa
6XCa2
The sound power is evidently proportional to the
There being no net flow acrossthe boundary, Eq. fourth power of the convectionvelocity and to the
(14) is the choicerather than Eq. (13). Putting y secondpower of the amplitudeof the velocity fluctua=a cos(O0)
cos(O0),
wefindthecontribution
tion. If these two independentvariables are taken to
be proportionalto eachother, as would be the casefor
dynamicallysimilarflows,then we find that the sound
cosS
(/o) sin(0o)d(0o)*
intensityand powervary as the sixth powerof the flow
2XCa2
velocity and the secondpower of the volume of the
body. The sameis true for all small, nonlifting bodies,
(34) in the absenceof appreciableviscouseffects, except
3XCa2
that the value of the constantwould changesomewhat
On adding the two contributionstogether,we find from the abovevalue for the sphere.A point of interest
here is that the basic convected flow may have a
the farfield velocity perturbation'
"frozen" pattern, in which caseit producesno sound
:M% U ?
2r2:aa
U?
whatsoever,even of quadrupoletype, until interaction
u(x) .....
,
(35) with the fixed body occurs.
4rXCa2 dF
= aoo
U
cos
(0o)
fo
:aooU
cos0o)
fo
2XCa
XX
where X=2rCa/Wis the acousticwavelength, which

agreeswith the result of Rayleigh and Lamb.
Sphere in Oscillating Flow
There is the related casewhen the rigid sphereis

fixed,but the irrotational/lowingfluid in its immediate
localityhasa smalloscillatoryvelocity-U=- U0eit.

In this case,the shear velocity at the surfaceis U,
- ()U sin(/U0)sincethe flow componentU sin(U0)
due to the mean flow has to be included. Hence, by
takingadvantageof Eq. (34), we find that the farfield
perturbationattributable to the changingvorticity is
given by
u (x)= -- (a%'U?/2xc').
(36)
If it is supposedthat the velocityfluctuationsarise

due to a spatially periodic "hydrodynamic"flow of
wavelengthA being swept past the sphereat a convectivevelocityU,, thenwe canwrite w= 2rU/A, and
u(x)= -- (2r':a3lZ'U?/xA'),
Tones
A very simplemodel to elucidatethe generationof

aeolian tones by the stretching of a vortex ring is
possible
if we assumethat flowconditions
at the cylinder
can be taken to be two-dimensional.The steady flow
about a circular cylinder can be representedby a line
doublet placed along the cylinder axis so that the
streamlinesof the mean/low then follow the prescribed
circularboundaryshape(seeFig. 5). Now, the instantaneousimage systemin the cylinder for a singlefree
vortex -21' in the flow is a vortex of the samestrength
and oppositesign at the inversepoint of the circle,4
togetherwith one also of the samestrength but of the
samesignat the center (so as to maintain zero circulation about the cylinder). But here, the latter is
cancelledbecausewe haveto imposecirculationopposite
to that of the cast-off vortex in order to prevent a
changeof circulation around large circuits embracing
both the cylinder and the cast-off vortex. Then, any
of the streamlines(which are circular for rectilinear
(37)
where,= U,/c, is the convectiveMach number.The

soundintensityat the distantpoint x then is
4
I (X)-- 2W4paCa
(g6//X2 A4 )JIc
U02 cos2(r0),
Aeolian
(38)
The soundpowerP is easilyfoundby resolving

U0into
three mutually perpendicularcomponentsand inte-
aH. Lamb, The Dynamical Theory of Sound (Dover Publications,Inc., New York, 1960), p. 247, points out that in the
corresponding
soundscatteringproblem,where9E,= Ca/Ca-1, the
flow about the sphere is like incompressibleflow to order of
accuracy 2ra/X<<l; but the discrepancyinvolved is to be associated with monopole radiation, more efficient than dipole
radiation by just the order (2ra/X)-x.
a4E.g., L. M. Milne-Thomson, Theoretical Hydrodynamics
(The Macmillan Co., New York, 1957), 3rd ed., p. 349.
05:00:39
186
ALAN
POWELL
vortices) of Fig. 3 may be taken to represent the

cylinder.
The effect of adding the vortex pair of Fig. 3 to the
undisturbedflow of Fig. 5 is shownin Fig. 6. Here, the
displacementeffect, attributed to the motion of the
spherein Fig. 2, becomesevidentby the downwards
inclination of the streamlines behind the cylinder-downwash,in aerodynamicterminology.Corresponding Fro. 6. Instantaneous streamlines when a vortex and its image
streamlinesare identifiedin Fig. 3 and 6 (in the latter (see Fig. 3) are added to the pattern of Fig. 5. Note how the
streamlinesgoingfrom left to right are displacedby the downwash
caseF = 0.81Ua).
on the downstreamside of the cylinder, correspondingto the
A model, corresponding
to Fig. 1, is now easily set displacementeffect illustrated in Fig. 2, while the greater flow
up. Eachvortexformsa loopwith its image,the starting velocity over the cylinder than below its results in an upward
force on it.
pair beingof half-strengthsothat the circulationabout,
and the lift force on, the cylinder oscillate between
equalpositiveandnegativevaluesseeFig. 7(a). An
alternativemethodof joining the ringsup is shownin
Aeolian Tone--Similarity Analysis
Fig. 7(b) (the methodof joiningis immaterial).

The major characteristicsof aeoliantonescan now
Since the requiredvortex motionsare readily esti- be inferred. A dipolelikeradiation directednormal to
matedin this simplesituationby the standardmethods the stream direction is to be expected,its frequency
of hydrodynamics,the sound output is calculated being that at which the vorticesare shedfrom either
straightforwardlyand so is not presentedhere. The side.Further, the inclinationof the vortex loopsto the
most simple approximationis found by considering wind directionindicatesthe presenceof dipoleradiation
the actiondueto just the vortexnearestto the cylinder, with the maxima in the wind direction, at a frequency
(29a), in which casethe answercan be written down corresponding
to the sheddingof eachvortex, i.e., at
with the helpof Eq. (11).
the secondharmonic frequency.
An alternativeto usingthe imagevortexis to usethe
The result,Eq. (11), enablesa similarityanalysisto
vortex sheet at a solid-cylinderboundary, where the be easilymade. Making the plausibleassumptionthat
total rate of shearequalsthe localvelocity,thusmaking at reasonablyhigh Reynoldsnumbersthe dependent
useof the secondterm of the generalresult, (29b). The variables of interest are in the first approximation
sheet of variable but determinate strength may be independent
of Reynolds
number,wecantakeu(y) U,
imagined to consistof indefinitely many elementary I' Ud and O/Otw U/d. Then, we find for the sound
vortices,eachoneof whichis loopedto a corresponding power P
element
elsewhere.
Naturally, the more elaboratethe model, the closer

it can approachreality, and a detailedstudy of the
paU3d21jl'
3(b?d)2.
motion of the vorticity about the cylinder, including
the principaleffectsof viscosity,wouldnot only throw
on wind speed
light on the importantcasting-offprocessand the wake This showsthe sixth-powerdependence
of the cylinder
formation, but at the same time would directly yield first inferredby Yudin. It is independent
diameterd (solongas the effectof Reynoldsnumberis
the corresponding
soundradiation.35
unimportant),but doesinvolveits lengthb (whichis
supposed
short as comparedto a wavelengthso that
P''(u2(x))paCa2' (40)
the radiation
field does not need to be considered two-
dimensional).
Since the Strouhal number $wd/U
at low Mach
numbersis dependentonly on the Reynoldsnumber,
as also are what we have assumedto be proportionalities, Eq. (40) is made completeby adding a factor
that is an unknown but slowly varying function of
Fro. 5. Steady-flow streamlines about a circular cylinder,
Reynolds
number. For simplicity of the physical
determinedby the superpositionof a uniform flow from left to
right, and a dipole (doublet) of unvaryingstrength.
picture, this two-dimensional
model was chosen'the
basic
theory
naturally
applies
to the general case,
a5Vortex motion about a cylinderis examinedby J. H. Gerrard,
"The Calculation of the Fluctuating Lift on a Circular Cylinder when at higher Reynolds numbers randomnessof
and Its Application to the Determination of Aeolian Tone phasealongthe cylindermust be taken into account.
Intensity,"presented
at an AGARD meeting,Brussels,
1-5 April
1963, [AGARD Rept. (to be published)-].The presenttheory Then, it is better to replacethe b' in Eq. (40) by the
indicates how knowledgeof the vortex motion yields the sound productof b and the appropriately
definedcorrelation
output directlyrather than via estimationof the pressureat the
cylinderboundaryto give the forcefor usein Lighthill'stheory. length L.
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
SOUND
187
the edgetone:(a) dipoletypesoundradiationand (b)
Edgetone
a local flow, which at low speedsis "hydrodynamic"

The plane jet of the edgetone,usuallybut not at all
and which, in flowingabout the edge,disturbsthe jet
necessarilylaminar, is unstable and periodic wavy as it leavesthe orificenearby, so completingthe feeddisturbancesin it are amplified as they are swept back loop. It has already been shownelsewherehow
towardsthe fixed wedge (edge!).The interactionof the present generalizedapproach simultaneouslyacthe resultant
vortex
motion
of the stream
with
the
counts for these two
characteristics
in terms
of the
wedgegivesrise to two important effectscharacterizing vortex motion at the wedge.36

Part
II:
SOUND
FROM
THE
MOVEMENT
OF
VORTICITY
IN
A FREE
FLOW
But there can be no changeof momentumin a free

We next considerhow the soundgeneratedby free
flowscan be consideredto originatesolelyin the motion flow, for no forcecan be applied to it; so
of vorticity. The resultsare general,but it is convenient
to base the present discussionon the motion resulting
from a disturbanceof a thin, plane shear layer, the
initially uniform velocity on the upper side being
d-U, with -U on the lower, so that the total shear
and, hence,there is zero dipole sound.The lack of
U is given by the integral of / taken acrossthe un-
(42)
momentumchangemeansthat a movementof vorticity

disturbedshearlayer (seeFig. 8). In the comparatively in somedirectionat oneplacemust be accompanied
by
early stages of the vortex formation, the highly unan oppositemovementelsewhere(as suggested
in Fig.
stable shearlayer takes a shapelike that of Fig. 8, the
8). These both generatedipole sound,but the instanwave being supposedto have an effective length b
taneous
total strengthis zero:They degenerateto make
normal to the paper and the shearlayer remainingplane
up
a
quadrupole,
given by the sum of the dipole
elsewhere.
contributions,but now taking into accountthe fact
that the soundarriving at a given instant at a distant
5. OPPOSING
MOVEMENTS
OF VORTICITY:
point
must leave the constituentdipolesat slightly
QUADRUPOLE RADIATION
differenttimes.This time differenceis 2yx/Ca,as Fig. 9
In the aeolian-tone case, the sound resulted from makesevident,so the two contributionsto the velocity
the net changeof area of vortex rings. Such rings may fluctuationat point x missbeingexactlyout of phase
be imagined here; part of one is indicated in Fig. 8, by the amount
its circulationbeing/SF--i'bA, the small area/SA being
chosenso that the circulation (3Fis constant along the
lengthof the vortex element.The loopmay be imagined
to run to infinity in the plane of the shear layer, the
remainder of the loop being completedat an infinite
distance away. No matter how the ring be supposed
closed,only that part of it in motion normal to itself
causesa local dipoleeffect,just as for the aeoliantone,
with a consequentrate of changeof momentum:
d(5M)/dt= pabFûdl-- papaV.
(7a
'
This showshow dipole-generating

elementsin differing
partsof the flowmay be combinedto form an oblique
quadrupolewith the axesin the directionsof y and
g.a*On considering
the wholeflow, we then have, for
(41)
FIG.
8.
Disturbance
of
a-x
The vorticity being free, it moveswith the local fluid

shearlayer, two elementsof
velocityu; the volume V is simplybA timesthe desired vorticity
each
acting
likedidistance along the elementary vortex ring. Then, Eq. polesto forma quadrupole...
0
(12) ostensibly applies directly in the present
--
8A-'
u
circumstance.
30Alan Powell, J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 34, 163 (1962).

a7The notion that the sound radiation may be attributed to
oblique quadrupolesmade up of opposingdipolesin different
parts of the flow was suggested
by Alan Powell, Ph.D. thesis,
Univ. Southampton(1953). The opposingdipole elementswere
suggestedto be due to the momentum fluctuations associated
with fluid elementsbeing acceleratedso as to attain the local
velocity in a shearlayer, having been carried acrossthe shear
layer by a larger-scaleeddy motion. However, later rigorous
analysisI-Alan Powell, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 33, 1798 (1961),
Eq. (5)-] showedthis plausibleand dimensionallycorrectpicture
to be incomplete;now,we seethat it is the vorticity that must be
Fi(.
7.
Two
methods
of
ones,
and,
when
very
far
strength
of
the
subsequent
forming vortex rings in the

aeolian-tone situation. The
startingvortex (not shown)

is
taken
to
be
half
the
downstream, has its image

at the centerof the cylinder.
so used.
05:00:39
188
ALAN
,.
YY
POWELL
,..,TO
DISTANT
POINT
x. Fro. 9. Resolution of y and g
in the direction
of the distant
observationpoint x.
Y,
strengthin free flows' the theoremis derived in Sec. 6

directly in terms of the presentvortex theory of aerodynamic noise. This means that all the longitudinal
components
in a tensorexpansionmust cancelout when
a free flow as a whole is considered.
L"
A simple physical reasoningfor this is as follows'

The
lateral quadrupolemay be lookedupon as being
the velocityperturbationin the farfieldapproximation,
due to distortionsof fluid elementsfrom meanspherical
shapesto ellipsoidalones, with no changeof volume.
yxcx v (y)*,
(44) On the otherhand,an initially sphericalshapedistorting
in longitudinalquadrupolefashion would undergono
movement
at the equator (the plane of symmetry)
where :"= (de/dte)cos(ES)and the repeatedsuffix
is not to be summed. Taking the time retardation while the polesmove inwards,or outwards,in unison.
operatoroutsidethe integraland usingits mean value Hence, here there is a changein volume necessitating
or expansionof the fluid. Thus, a given
is permissibleso long as the wavelengthsof interest a compression
pressure
fluctuation
over somepart of the boundary
considerablyexceedthe maximumeffectivevalue of y
of the elementresultsin far larger distortionsof the
involved.
lateral type than of the longitudinal,becausein the
latter case additional and comparitively large comResolutionof Quadrupoles
pressire forces as well as inertia forces have to be
Notice that any obliquequadrupole,as givenin Eq. balanced.Sincea given amplitude of oscillationof the
(43), has its directionalminima normal to the axesof sphericalabout its mean positionresultsin about the
the constituentdipolesand normalto the line joining samesoundoutput in both the lateral and the longithem (seeFig. 10). It is alsoindicatedtherehowsucha tudinal modes,it must be expectedthat lateral quadquadrupolemay be resolvedinto the sum of lateral rupole radiation will be predominant.Now this must
and longitudinalquadrupoles.
Sincethe vectorconnect- be especiallyso at low Mach numbers.In fact, in the
ing the dipoles,and also the dipolesthemselves,can limit of incompressible
flow = 0, the net longitudinalbe resolvedinto components
alongany set of axes,it quadrupolestrengthat any point is completelyruled
follows that an oblique quadrupolemay always be out becauseof the incompressibilitycondition. But
resolvableinto an assemblyof lateral and longitudinal the lateral quadrupole field remains unimpaired as
quadrupoles.Thus, we write
--0:
the incompressible
flow field is the hydrodynamic
part
of
a
lateral
quadrupole
field. Thus, at
yx= y cos(0g)-- Y cos(0)cos(g)= yi cos(g), (45)
speedslow enough for the fluctuating flow to be
where the repeatedi (and the j shortly) is to be approximatedto by an incompressible
one--and this is
summed,and similarly for . Then, the integral of not asrestrictiveasit may seem--thelateralquadrupole
Eq. (44) can be rewrittenfor resolutioninto a set of is the basicform of the soundgenerator.
six lateral quadrupoles
gafvo' o,,d
T,
u(x)=4rxca
6. FORMAL
DEVELOPMENT
ijdV*
cos()
cos();
ij;i,j=1,2,3,(46a)Differential Equation in Terms of Velocity
and a set of three longitudinalones
dV*
cos'();
i=1,2,3.
(46b)
It is to be noted that the resolutionof a singlelateral

quadrupoleinto components
alongnew axesgenerally
yieldssetsof bothlateral and longitudinalquadrupoles.
Hence, the presenceof longitudinalquadrupoles,in
tensorcomponentform, doesnot in itself necessarily
indicate the presenceof a nonzerototal longitudinal
strength.
Here, we chooseto work in termsof velocity instead

of pressure,since we desire to examinethe velocity
in the flow itself as well as the farfieldperturbations.
From Eqs. (18) and (19), it is easyto showthat
vv. u- (
= - vE
v.+ (
+ (1/ca')(O/Ot)E(u
V)u+(1/p)V(c;o)-]. (47)
//
/
Nature of Quadrupole
of Aerodynamic
Sound
In fact, the "three-sound-pressures
theorem"aSshows Fro. 10. An obliquequadrupoleresolvedinto lateral and longithat there can be no net longitudinal quadrupole tudinal ones,oneaxisbeingparallelto the constituentdipoleaxis.
Further resolutionmay be made by resolving the dipoles into
a8Alan Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 34, 902 (1962).
components.
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
SOUND
189
After usingthe identity of Eq. (16) and rearranging, can be present. We need the solution in forms more
we find that
convenientfor both near and far points, the former for
discussingsome details of the flow, sharpeningthe
- v^
(o/at)(u. v)udistinction between incompressibleand slightly com+ O/OrE
(c2/cff-- 1)V (lnp)-]
pressibleflows,and the latter for estimatingthe sound
--O/Ot(p--pa)/p'V(CVCa2)3. (48) radiation.
We interpret this exact equation
s as the wave
Hydrodynamic Velocity Field
equationon the postulatethat the right-hand side can
be specified.We therefore may simplify the latter,
The term "hydrodynamicfield" wasoriginallyintroprovideddue care is taken. The five sourceterms there duce& to indicatethat part of a compressible
fluid flow
have the following respective orders of relative that wouldbe hardly affectedif the fluid wereimagined
magnitude:
to be incompressible
instead; we are now able to see
somethingof how this hydrodynamicfield compares
with the incompressible
one having the samevorticity.
It shouldbe noted that it is the vorticity that can be
With the two conditions<<1 and $<<1, the last
two terms can be safelydropped.However, it may be best taken as the conunonelement in the two flows;
that in the solutionthe contribution stemmingfrom a this is becauseit can be specifiedwithout any reference
given term turns out to be approximatelyzero; this to the compressibilityof the medium.
First, we review very briefly the relevant properties
does,in fact, occurin the solutionin its farfieldapproxiflow. The governingequation
mation, in which we have a prime interest.To the first of the incompressible
we obtaindirectlyfrom the vectoridentity of Eq. (16)
nonzeroapproximations,we have instead
with
V.u=0'
$2Yla:$Jl a: $5g4: $J1D:
It is clearly safe to drop thoselast two terms if

but the secondterm must be retained. (This provision
couldproveto be too severewhenthe magnitudeof the
coefficients
is determined.)
In the third term of Eq. (48), we can replaceVp by
Vp/c,, and then --Vp/p, by du/dt. Then, with the

secondterm expressed
in a differentway with the help
of Eq. (15), we have
D" = -- V^q- (1/cff)O2/Ot
+ ( 1/c,) V[ (d/dt+O/Ot)u']. (49)
(51)
Its solution is
u(x)=
V^"
4r
dV(y),
(52)
to which Eq. (50) readily reduces.It may be put into

a more convenient form by use of the appropriate
vector expansion,
1 ^
Vv(!)dV
(y)
1 (!)dV(y)q___fv
.
General Velocity Field
The solutionto the foregoingequationwe can write

down straightaway'
=-u(x)
4 oV ^(l*/r)dV(y)
1fv0
4'c,
v" = - v ^ (.
--(l*/r)dV(y)
o Ot
(53)
The first term vanishes,for by the divergencetheorem

it canbe expressed
asa surfaceintegralwhoseintegrand
is proportionalto , which is by definitionzero at all
pointson the boundingsurfaceSo.Then, we have
=-u(x)
0^
dV(y),
(54)
whichreducesto Eq. (2) for a linevortex.

This form showshowan elementof vorticity fiV may
be consideredto induce a velocity of magnitude
There is no complementaryfunction here, and the 'V/(4-F) at right anglesto both the directionof the
constant of integration has been omitted, for this vorticity vector and the radius vector from it. Here
would give a mean motion.
is the well-knownanalogythat if representselectric
This solutionappliesto all points having vorticity, current,then u wouldrepresentthe magneticfield.
aswell as to distantpointswhereonly acousticaleffects
In contrastto this last result, the first term of the
V
4'c
o
q-
(l*/r)dV (y).
tit/ _!
(50)
80A rather similar equationresultsfor pu in place of u on the
left-handside.
40Alan Powell, "The Problem of Structural Failure due to
Jet Noise,"Aeron.Res.Council(London)Rept. 1754(1955).
05:00:39
190
ALAN
compressible
result,Eq. (50), becomes
POWELL
lossof energyof the flow will becomeapparent.The

kinetic energyT of an incompressible
flow is givenby
Pafft(y)
t:(t)
T ....
8r
dV(y)dV(z).
0 [y-zl
(58)
If the kinetic energyis to decrease,then it followsfrom

thisexpression
that the appropriatelyaverageddistance
(55) betweenelementsof vorticity must increase.Hence,we
This first term might give rise to the idea that the may say that the conversionof kinetic flow energy to
induced velocity simply lags behind the inducing an acousticform resultsin a spreadingout of the basic
vorticity by the transit time r/Ca; but the secondterm sound-generatingfluid motion.
largely cancelsthe effect when the distancer is small as
Far Field
compared with the wavelength. To show this, we
expand both integrands in Taylor series about the
Here, we discusssomepropertiesof the far field of a
unretardedtime;they become
slightly compressibleflow. This is in extreme contrast
to the hydrodynamicfield,for thereis no counterpart
r
flow. In this far field,
t*= t------[- ,
(56) to the far field in incompressible
considerablemathematicalsimplificationsare to be
made, stemmingfrom the fact that variations in the
and
radiusvectorr, whenit occursin the denominator,are
alwaysof much lesssignificancethan are the differences
.......
(S7) in time delay due to variationsin the distancer.
We considerthe solutionin the form of Eq. (50);
the leadingintegralis first dealt with, and in a modified
The term arisingfrom the secondmemberof Eq. (56) form it is combinedwith the secondintegral. The
cancelswith that from the first memberof Eq. (57). result vanishes when the time retardation is taken
Thus, for relatively small distances,this single term outside the integral; so the next approximationis
of the compressible
result is the sameas the complete estimated. It then remains to show that the contribution
incompressiblesolution, apart from a disparity of from the two membersin the last integralof the solution
second,and not first, order. In terms of characteristic is negligiblein comparison
to that approximation.
physical variables, the relative magnitude of the
As a preliminary, note that taking the curl of the
(vector)difference
is at mostof order2 (togetherwith equationof motion,Eq. (20), yields,for compressible
higher powers if appropriate). This feature of the flOW,
compressiblesolution that has been singled out is
ot/ot+ v ,, = - v ,, [-( /p) Vp-]
associatedwith the fact that the phasevelocity in the
immediateneighborhoodof a dipoleis greater than the
^
ordinary plane-wave-propagation
speed.Thus, while in
'"(l/pagCag)7p
^ Vp:0.
(59)
the compressibleflow, one may still think of the
vorticity inducing a velocity, it must be remembered
We take the leadingterm of the solutionEq. (50), in
that it is really curl t and not t that undergoesa simple the form of Eq. (55), but the memberwith r-2 in the
retardation, and there are also the two succeeding denominatorcan be safely discardedfor considerations
integralsof Eq. (50), both of which are of order 2,
of the far field. Taking the r-1 outside the integral,
relative
to the first.
It follows from
this observation
that
the movement
whereit may be replacedby x-1, we havein the present

circumstance
of vorticity in the slightly compressiblecase must

differ slightly from that in the incompressibleone.
Now the kinetic energy in the incompressibleflow
dependson the positionof the vorticity at any instant, 4rx
and the kinetic energyremainsconstant.Hence, in the
compressiblecase, the loss of energy by acoustic
1f(V
^()*d
V(y)
= i fv Oil*
radiation
must
be traceable
to the difference
in the
^-- dV(y)
4'XCa
......
4'XCa
(V^)*dV(y),
o
vortex locationsrelative to what they would have in

the incompressiblecase. In principle, therefore, one by virtue of Eq. (59). This may be rewrittenin the form
couldestimatethe rate of decreaseof energyof the flow,
and this would equal the radiated soundpower,which
- -^
V^ (E*)dV (y)^
V(i*) ÊdV (y).
we later estimate directly. We can also see how this
47rXCa o
4rXCa o
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
The first volume integral vanishes,for it is equal to a

surfaceintegral with an integrand that is zero on the
surfaceconcerned;so,
SOUND
191
The requiredexpression
for the velocityperturbation
in the far field therefore consistsof a singleterm'
u(x)=
(V^ i)*dV (y)
4-x
4'xca'
:^
o
Ot
(60)
We make useof the vector identity
a= a-
^ ( ^ a)
(61)
to combinethis last result with the secondintegral in
the solution,Eq. (50), so that togetherthey equal

-
x'* dV(y).
4'XCa
2
4'XCa
a
dr(y).
(62)
y"dV(y)*.
(65)
The integralhere doesnot vanishwhen the vector

is calculatedfrom the incompressible
flow having the
samevorticity, using Eq. (54), the error introduced
being no greater than of relative order YlV',as has
already been established.This is, therefore,the result
we seek: It is just the sameas that obtainedvia the
physicalargument,Eq. (44). It showsthat the sound
radiation is directly attributable to a volume distribution of oblique quadrupoles.
Sound Intensity and Power

The time-delay operator may be taken outside the
integral; it then correspondsexactly to the solution
The soundintensityat the point x is given by
already found for the distant dipole-pressure
field, Eq.
(30), whenthe surfaceintegralsare discarded.
I(x)--paCa(it(X)),
But
this would not be at all suitable
for the final
result,for, as discussed
in Sec.6, the total instantaneous
dipolestrengthvanishes.This canbe seenby integrating
the momentumequation over the whole flow region,
for, in the absenceof forces applied to a bounding
surface,there canbe no changeof the total momentum.
Quadrupole
Approximation
.fortheFar Field
Clearly, we need more accurate approximation to
Eq. (62) and this can be obtainedby expressingthe
integrand in a Taylor series in terms of the time
retardation relative to that at y=0. We have in this
farfield
case
Paa// yxZx(
16wsXCa
?x"
(Y)
?,"
(z))d
V(y)dV
(z).
0
(66)
In the specialbut important caseof a large volume

of isotropic,homogeneous
turbulence,the correlation
of " may be assumed
to dependon[y-z[ in order
to yield an approximate but very simple result by
integrationby parts (somewhattediously)4:
__
1 2
I(x)--167r2X2Ca,
Pa
]/tO
iVyx
(:f'(O)xl! (y))dl/(y).
(67)
0
2'(y; t-Ix-yl/a)-E'*+(y/ca)E"*+...,
(63) The integral is convenientlyexpressedin terms of a

correlation
volume
V'
wherenowt*---t-x/ca. Whensubstituted
into Eq. (62),
the term stemming from the first member vanishes,
as we know, and the secondone is
=fry"
"(0)
"(y))d
V(y)/l(uy))(i)
0
(68)
fv "dV
yx
(y; .
(64)
where1 is a lengthto be associated

with the weighted
valueof yx, (u'(y)),and (/:')are meansquarevaluesin
The last integral of the solution,Eq. (50), is negli- the flow, and wc is any convenient characteristic
gible. The surface integral thrown up by using the frequency of the flow. In terms of this correlation
divergencetheoremuponit vanishes,and the remaining volume, which is particularly useful as a basis for
4*rXCa
similarity methods,
part is
[d2{
u2dV(y)
2-xcaOLdtU
vo
Now, the only mechanismpresentthat could account
for a changeof the total kinetic energy in a free inviscid flow is the productionof acousticenergy itself'
The
contribution
from
this term is of the same func-
tional order as is (64), but it is factored by a very

smallcoefficient(actually of order'). For this reason,
the term is safelydropped.
I (x): pa(l2)('2)lm2COc4Vo/16rx2ca
5.
(69)
For this isotropiccase,the soundpower generated
per unit volumeis readily found'
//Vo--pa(lt2)('2)lm2cOc4/47CCa
5.
(70)
The same form holds true when the turbulence
is not
isotropic;then d' is bestexpressed

in termsof ofthog4Adjustment of the constantl. could absorbthe proportional
error incurred.
05:00:39
192
ALAN
POWELL
onal components,and the conventionalintegration to infinity. Hence,we can write

over a large spherecarried out. For flows in which a
correlationvolumeis not appropriate,this procedure
may be carriedout directlyon Eq. (66). We alsonote
that the precedingexpressions
could be rewritten for
the powerspectraldensitywith only minorchanges
of
But the kinetic energyof an incompressible
flow is
notation.
constant.Therefore,it immediatelyfollowsthat
ooudV(y)=fvo
y..x/V(y).
(73)
p(a)+p(b)+p(c)=O.
Nature of the Equivalent Point Quadrupoles
(74)
It is obviousthat no longitudinalquadrupolealonecan
flow, in the approximationof Eq. (65), satisfiesthe satisfy this requirement; only lateral quadrupoles
"three-sound-pressures
theorem"a8;this means that satisfy it. Thus, we may say that the basic sound
the volumedistributionof obliquequadrupoles
must generatorsof a free flow (for g<<l, and $g<<l) must
be reducibleto a systemof point lateral quadrupoles, be quadrupolesof the lateral type. If a method of
all locatedat the samereferencepoint, which, to the resolution yields longitudinal ones, then their total
strengthmust be zero,so that they may
presentand usual order of accuracy,may be placed instantaneous
at any convenientpositionwithin the flow volume V0. be reducibleto lateral ones.asAn exampleof this is to
of spinning
We considerthe soundpressurep(x)=p,c,u(x)at be found in the followingconsiderations
vortices;
another
in
the
sound
generation
by
isotropic
three points,a, b, and c, locatedone on eachof any
turbulence,
where
Proudman
found
only
lateral
set of three mutually perpendicularaxes and equiquadrupoles,
despite
the
presence
of
energy
dissipation?
distant from the origin at the referencepoint within
We show here that
V0, so that a=b-c=
the sound radiation
of a free
x. The instantaneoussum of the
soundpressures
at thesethreepointsthen is
7. INSTANCES
OF QUADRUPOLE RADIATION
Sound Radiation from Two Spinning Vortices
p(a)-l-p(b)-l-p(c)= -
1 fuy"dV(y)*,
1 fu."d
4rxca
a
4rXCa
a
With Eq. (65) at our disposal,we may estimatethe
V(y)*.
(71)
We next show that the volume integral is equal to

the kinetic energy of the flow. We start with the
identityof Eq. (15), and rewriteit in the form
v. (uu)- u(v. u)-:e.

The scalarproductof this with the positionvectory is
the same as
V. (u'y)--u'(V
y)= V. [u(y. u)-]--u'--y.,
having recognizedthat V-u=0 for an incompressible
fluid. SinceV. y= 3, this last equationbecomes
sound radiation from any low-speedflow for which

only the vorticity is known, for from the vorticity the
velocity at any desiredpoint may be calculated.
As a simpleexampleof interestin itself, we find the
soundgeneratedby the two spinningvortices shown
in Fig. 11. The vorticesare straight,parallel,and long
as comparedto their distance2y apart, and they have
equal circulationF. They thereforespinaroundan axis
midway between them with the induced velocity
u(y)=F/(4-y), the whole flow field rotating at the

angularrate co=F/(4rf), while = r'/(4ry). Each of
the vectorsy, u, and is of constantmagnitude, and
rotatesat the rate co.Thus, taking the time derivative
of any one of these vectors amounts to multiplying
it by coand turningit throughan angler/2.
Choosea set of mutually perpendicularaxes i so

that axes1 and 2 are in the planeof y and and axis3
lies betweenthe vortices; (21) and (22) are then the
V' (u2y)= V' [u(y'u)-]+u'-y .
angles between the first two axes and the point of
On taking the volume integral of this over-all space, observation.Then, taking l/X=rl/(2rc,,f)<<l so that
and using the divergencetheoremagain, we find that differencesin time retardation can be neglected,
fs 2_ u-]dS(y)
fv(u2--Y'E)dV(y)'
(72) u(x)['u y uy.
00
22l
471'XC
a3
d2
dtY
cos(.02)
*,
221 d
The surfaceintegral may be set equal to zero if the
distant velocity decreases
fast enoughwith distance.A
simplesourceflow hasu---y-, a dipoleflow hasu---y-3
and a quadrupoleflow has u.y -4. Here, we are con- Observingthat we can put cos(01)=cosc0t
and cos()2)
cernedwith a quadrupoleflow, so the integral falls to
zerovery rapidly, like y-S, asthe surfaceS00is expanded 42I. Proudman,Proc. Roy. Soc. (London)A214, 119 (1952).
4'xc,
aty
cos()i)
cos(2i).
(75)
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
SOUND
193
=sincot,the last expression

becomes
u(x) .....
25ly d2
['cos(l) coswt+cos(2)sinot-],
FIG.
12.
Instantaneous
4arxcaa dF
=['2
streamlines
7rXCa3
hydrodynamic
field
of
sponding
+cos2(51)cos2cot-cos"(52)
cos2cot-].(76)
This shows how the rotating quadrupole may be
representedby the sum of a fixed lateral one, and two
fixed longitudinalonesof oppositesign.
The two longitudinalquadrupolesare equivalent to
a lateral one whose axes 1' and 2' bisect the axes 1 and 2
of the longitudinalones,aaso the alternative result in

termsof two fixedlateral quadrupolesis
u(x) =--['cos(51)
the
two
spinning
rectilinear
vortices with the corre-
cos(51)cos(52)sin2cot
25coyl
in
directional
characteristics
of
far acoustic field.
the
the intensity paCa(U'(X))

integrated over a sphere
centered on the sources. We therefore have to deal with
the surfaceintegralsof the followingproducts'

4al ?-1-a n'q- a .?'q- 4a 1.an- 4a 1.a..-- 2aua ...
cos(52)sin2cot
Now, the value of the surfaceintegralsof an' and a.2

'
are each4rx'/5,of al?'and aua..are each4rx'/15, and
q-cos(51') cos(52') cos2cot-].(77) of al.au and al.a..
are each zero (as considerations
of
signs
in
the
quadrants
soon
show).
Thus,
the
sound
At a fixedobservationpoint, the soundperturbation
powerP is given by
passesthroughtwo maximaand two zerosduringeach
rotation of the vortices; this is the characteristicto be
associatedwith a lateral quadrupole of constant
P ......
l2.
(78)
15r ca
15rc5\4ry/
strength,but whichrotatesat the rate co;i.e., it rotates
with the vortex field (seeFig. 12). The rotating lateral
quadrupolehas a farfield directionalitythat resembles Since I'/4ry is the vortex velocity, here we see the
a doughnutwith no holein the middle,threadedon the eighth-powerlaw for the soundpower generatedby an
71'XC
a3
16p,co4y2l
16p(I'
unsteadyfree flow.
axis about which the vorticesspin.
Now, the hydrodynamicfield of a lateral quadrupole

undergoesradial vibrations like those of a sphere
undergoingellipsoidaldistortions;in this case, the
distortionrotatesin its major plane.The instantaneous
streamlinesof the two spinningvorticesare shownin
Fig. 12 also, and, of course,the whole streamline
pattern rotates at the rate co. Thus, the rotating
noncircular streamlinesare to be directly associated
with the hydrodynamic(incompressible)
field of the
rotating quadrupole2
Sound Power
For the purposeof estimatingthe soundpower,Eq.

(76) is mostconvenient,as the componentquadrupoles
there are orthogonalto each other. Let the terms
within the bracket be written 2a12, an and -a..,
respectively.The soundpoweris then proportionalto
I'
Fro. 11. Notation
for two rectilinear
vortices. The observationpoint does

not in generallie in the plane of the
figure.
[i
Similarity Methods
We have seenhow soundis generatedby the movement of vorticity, or rather by its moment becauseof
the distancefactor yx. This means that in a turbulent
flow, where eddiesof all sizesare present,the largest
eddiesare most weighted by this factor, so that the
larger eddiestransportingvorticity are to be expected
to account for most of the sound. It is these eddies which
figure in the mixing-length theories of shear-flow

turbulenceat high Reynolds numbers: the vorticitytransport theory is the natural choicehere,4aso that
l, of Eq. (68) may be takenproportionalto the mixing

length.
Now, the vorticity-transporttheory providesa very
satisfactorybasisfor estimatingthe manner of spread
of free flows.Necessaryto the theory are the assumptions that the mixing length is proportional to the
thicknessof the shear layer, that the mean-square
turbulent velocity is proportional to the total rate of
shear squared,and that the mean-squarevorticity is
proportionalto the squareof the mean vorticity. The
way in which the mixing length varies acrossa given
4aE.g., S. Goldstein, editor, Modern Developments
in Fluid
Dynamics (Oxford University Press, London, 1938), Vol. 1,
Chap. 5.
05:00:39
194
ALAN
POWELL
crosssectionis immaterial,as it is necessary

only that
by an intermediateregion that does not follow any

simple similarity laws.
Within nearly five jet diametersof the exit there is
an annular shear flow, spreading linearly inwards
and outwards, the velocity in the core being undiminished.The velocityprofilesare nearly similarand
Eqs. (79) and (80) apply, the mean width b of the
shearlayer nowbeingproportionalto the jet diameterd.
In the other regionof similarity, alsotreated successinformation about the sound radiation from free flows
fully by the vorticity-transportmethod, the diameter
at large Reynolds numbers. Similarly analyseshave of the turbulentflowvariesdirectlywith z, sodV,z"dz,
been given beforefor the intensity of soundgeneration and the central velocity falls inversely with z, so
along a jet45-48and for the power spectrum of jet (u'.), (Ud/z)'.is assumed.
Then, we find that
noise45.48;
we show how the present theory yields
dP/dz, paUSdca
-5(z/d) -7
(81)
consistent results. 4
it vary in like manner acrossall sections.We need only

the additional plausible assumptionsthat typical
frequenciesare proportional to the mean velocity
dividedby the width, i.e., are proportionalto the mean
vorticity,44and that the dimensionof the correlation
volumeis proportionalto the mixing length.
Therefore, we have good grounds for anticipating
that a similarity method so based will yield useful
and that
Shear Flow
dP/dw, paUd6a-SCo
'..
The vorticity-transport theory correctly predicts

that a plane turbulent shear flow, separatinga region
of uniformvelocity U from still fluid, increases
linearly
in thicknesswith the distancez from the point of its
inception.Then, we have (u"), U", ('"), U"/z", lm,z,
wc,U/z, V,lma,z and for a slicedz of the layer of
breadth b, we have dV,bzdz. Then, from Eq. (70)
we find
(82)
While it is very difficult to measurethe sound-power

productionper unit length of a jet, it is relatively easy
to determine the spectral density of the total sound
power. The co-'.and w'. are in good agreement with
experimentalfindings.
An empiricalcombinationof theseis
dP/dw= (4/,r)(P/t-0max)/E
((.0/O)max)"{((.0/O)max)--l']
2 (83)
(where wnx refers to the spectralmaximum). This

gives a spectrum shape undistinguishablefrom that
showinghow the soundpower generatedper unit area given by Cole et al.for air jets, jet engines,and rockets
of a shearlayer dependson the total shear,but not on and from other reliable measurementsfor jet engines.*
It shouldbe noted, however, that the groundsfor the
the thicknessof the shearlayer.
The power spectral density of the sound power estimateof the co-"part are firmer than that for the co'.
follows:
part, becauseof the possibilityof the proviso being
compromisedby other parts of the jet and because
(80) the assumedsimilarity is not fully establisheduntil
quite far downstream,so far as the turbulent fluctua,.,paUOb6a-Co
-'..
tions are concerned;thus, for example, a casemay be
A necessaryprovisowith sucha spectrumestimationis made for modifyingthe co'.to w.8
the obviousone that the steepness
of the total spectrum
Finally, although thesesimilarity spectraagree well
must not be lessthan that of the individual slices,each with experimentalfindingsof jet noise,it is not to be
slicenaturally producingits own spectrum,the shape overlooked that no Mach number effect has been
of whichis immaterial exceptas just stated.
incorporated,whereasthe highly directionalcharacter
of jet noisemakesit fully evident that suchan effectis
Jet Flow
most certainly present. The effect of Mach number
and the justification for its omissionwith regard to
A fully turbulent jet may be convenientlydivided
the spectrumof the total noisepower are discussed
in
into two parts, eachof which has similarity, separated the next section.
dP/bdg,-,paS8/6?,
(79)
44The rather preferableassumptionthat the frequencydepends

8. CONVECTIVE
AND REFRACTIVE
EFFECTS
on the fluctuating velocity and the mixing length reducesto the
same thing here.
In general,we may say that the value of $Ir6,being
45Alan Powell, "Similarity Considerationsof Noise Production
a measure of the extent of the flow field in terms of
from Turbulent Jets, Both Static and Moving," Douglas Aircraft
Co., Inc., Rept. SM-23246 (1958); seealso J. Acoust. Soc. Am.

31, 812 (1959).
46H. S. Ribner, J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 30, 576 (1958).
47G. M. Lilley, "On the Noise from Air Jets," Aeron. Res.
wavelength, governsthe relative importanceof convection-biasingeffectsand of refractive effectsacross
Council(London)Rept. 20376 (1958).

48M. J. Lighthill, J. Am. Inst. Aeron.Astronaut.1, 1507(1963).
50j. N. Cole, H. E. von Gierke, D. T. Kyrazis, K. M. Eldred,

and A. J. Humphrey, "Noise Radiation from Fourteen Types
of Rockets in the 1000 to 130 000 lbs. Thrust Range," WADC
4The boundary layer and wake considered on the basis of

Lighthill's theory [Alan Powell, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 31, 1649
(1959) may alsobe analyzedby the presentmethod.
Tech. Rept. 57-354, (1957).

5Unpublishedwork by DouglasAircraft Co., Inc.
05:00:39
THEORY
OF
VORTEX
velocitygradients,while the value of largelycontrols

the magnitudeof sucheffects.
The jet of propulsive devices remains the most
important source of aerodynamic sound, and the
mechanismof jet flow at moderate or high Mach
numbers is radically different to, say, that of the
spinningvortices.This is becausein the jet the fluctuating flow may be sweptalong at quite high speeds,
yet itselfbe little differentfrom that of very low speeds.
Hence,in the jet situationthe effectsof convectionand
refraction may be usefully studied as distinct phenomena,the basicsourcemechanismbeingunaffected;
attention
is now restricted
to such flows.
SOUND
195
As the speed increasesfor any given frequency, the

position moves downstreamto a thicker shear layer,
but the rate of shear increasesproportionally, so that
the total effect"sensed"by the source,beingdependent
upon some fraction of a wavelength,is roughly constant.56This is relevant to why the U 8 relationshipis
followed so closely, and why the directional pattern
shows little dependenceon the convective Mach
number, even for jet-engineffluxes, whereasthe direct
application of Lighthill's method and its extension
indicatesa noticeableincreasebeyond the U 8 relationship, accompaniedby a more pronounceddirectional
pattern.2
For wavelengthslarge enough as comparedto the

CONCLUSION
thicknessof the shear layer, the sourcemay be considered to be simply moving through the still
The vortex theory of aerodynamic-soundgeneration
atmosphere.For low convectiveMach number, Lightprovides a simple but fundamentally sound physical
hill's method of using a moving frame of referenceis
picturebasedon the classicdipolelikeactionof elements
appropriate,
8.,48
while, for higher convectionspeeds,
of vorticity, the opposingaction of elementsin a free
Williams showed how the time-retardation
effects must
flow continuingto form quadrupoleelements.
be retained in Lighthill's approach.5' Alternatively,
The theory has the rigorousmathematical support
Ribner has shown how retention of fixed coordinates in
necessaryto any theory of aerodynamicnoisebecause
conjunctionwith the convectionreflectedin the form
of the subtlety of the approximationsinvolved and it
of the source correlation function 53 leads to the results
is consistentwith Lighthill's well-establishedtheory. At
consistentwith Lighthill's and Williams' up to superlow speeds,similarity methods yield a sound-power
sonic convection speeds.The most important result
output proportional to the sixth power of the flow
is that the U s relationshipof lower speedsgives way
velocity, as applicationsto aeoliantonesand oscillatory
to U 3.
flow about a fixed object illustrated, while an eighthOn the other hand, when the wavelengthis short as
power law comesfrom the quadrupole-typesound of
comparedto the distancefrom the convectedsource
free flows. The latter is illustrated by the spinningto the ambient fluid, the dominant effect is one of
vortex problem and by turbulent shear and jet flows.
refraction, with relatively little bias to causereduced
Existing methodsmay be used to extend the range of
soundpowerin the upstreamhemisphereand increased
applicabilityof the method to higherspeedsthan those
power in the downstream one.a * This effect is
assumedin the formal development.The extremeease
especiallyevident in the direction propertiesof jet
by which one may calculate the sound field of a flow
noise,the level far away on the jet axis beingvery low
expressedin terms of a simple vortex motion was
due to its refraction away from the axis by the jet
illustrated in the case of the spinningvortices: one
shear.
needsonly the motion of the vorticity itself rather than
For wavelengths of moderate length--not far
information throughout the much more extensive
different from those of the spectralpeak of jet-engine
velocity
or pressurefields.Hence, any computationof
noise--both
convective
and refractive
effects are
the motion of an incompressiblefluid in terms of
present.It has been pointed out how the soundof a
inductionby vorticity automaticallyproducesthe data
particular part of the over-all spectrum emanates
necessaryto estimate the soundoutput from a similar
mainly from some particular downstreamposition in
flow with a relatively largesoundspeed.7
the jet, the locationbeing dependenton the jet speed.
52j. E. FfowcsWilliams, Phil Trans. Roy. Soc.(London)A255,
469 (1963).
5aH. S. Ribner, "Aerodynamic Soundfrom Fluid Dilatations,"
Univ. Toronto Inst. Aerophys. Rept. 86 (1962). The method of
treating the effectsof convectionis independentof the difficulties
inherent in the supposedsourcemechanism.
54Alan Powell,Aircraft Eng. 26, 2 (1954).
55Alan Powell, Proc. Phys. Soc. (London) B67, 313 (1954).
50Alan Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 32, 1609 (1960).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Partial support has been received from the U.S.

Officeof Naval Research,under contract.
,7 Sincethe soundoutput formula involves doubletime derivative, small stepsin an iterative processwould be desirableif a
close estimate
is desired.
05:00:39

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THE

Theory of Vortex Sound*

Physicalargumentsare followedby mathematicaldevelopments

problems. One aspect of special importance soon

Sound," Univ. Calif., Los Angeles,Dept. Eng. Rept. 61-70

behaveslike a dipolesheet.This is extendedby physical

be reducibleto a set of only lateral ones.It is inferred

Perhapsthe most-familiareddy pattern of all is that

describedby BnardTMand by Mallock,5 whichis now

strasse),in recognitionof the study concerningthe

Rayleigh had noted that the soundof aeolian tones

K1. 5, 547 (1912).

Fro. 1. Illustration of the alternateeddy pattern behinda

T. yonKrm6nandH. Rubach,Phys.Z. 13,49 (1912).

allowedto vibrateunderthe influenceof the aerodynamic

V. Strouhal,Wied. Ann. Phys.5, 216 (1878).

alternatingfluid forcenormal to the wind direction,in

given by Eq. (1) if the eddiesin the wake were far

Fro. 3. Streamlinesdue to a rectangularvortex ring of great

Yudin seizedupon the overt similaritiesbetweenthe

With encouragementfrom Lighthill's theory,s,a

viscousstress)actingon the surface.

7B. Etkin, G. K. Korbacher, and R. T. Keefe, "Acoustic

lines of the hydrodynamicfield

wherer= x--y and I is measured

Although Yudin's suppositionhas been thoroughly

,.5The early conceptualdoubtsexpressed

momentumof the fluidM is givenby

J. E. Ffowcs Williams, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 35, 930 (1961). The

vanishingof the pressuredipolesoundfor an infinite plane is

of a flat plate at which the pressure-dipole

6Alan Powell,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 32, 982 (1960).

The identificationof the flow inducedby a vortex

In the first instance,we have

there is a continuousdistribution of vorticity over the

Here, the time-delay operator 1' fully accountsfor

(seeFig. 4). Then, we have

If D(t) is sinusoidal,D(t)=Doe i"'t,then 1' reducesto

as if the fluid within wereincompressible,

the vortex loop has to be only small as comparedto

If, instead of idealisticvortex lines in the flow, we

where the prime indicatespartial differentiationwith

direction normal to its axis causesa local fluctuating

in the fluid moves with

0This doesnot generallymean that a bound vortex shouldbe

be partly boundand partly free.In fact, for thereto be

Here,cais the speedof soundin the ambientatmosphere.

being the outwards normal to the

If there is zero total flow of fluid out of the closed

Here, we work in termsof the pressure(or density)

(13), to which somereadersmay wish to proceed

[2"p= - 17-(pg+ 17pl/t2-utp/0t-l/t2Vp).(24)

First, note two very usefulvector identities:

(u. v)u- (V,,u),,u.

All the mathematicaldevelopments

With a view to simplification,comparethe ordersof

where$ is the Strouhalnumber,typicallywL/u (L being

final form of the solution,the last two terms can be

[2sp= _ V. (p+ VpuS).

[-O(pu)/at+ vP-](l*lr)dS (y)

The volume integrationrangesover all spacewhere the

surroundingstationary acousticmedium can be chosen

so that the acousticalrelationshipO(pu)/OtpaOu/Ot