Self-sustained aero-acoustic pulsations in gas transport systems: Experimental study of the influence of closed side branches

Abstract A theoretical model is proposed for the aero-acoustic sources responsible for low-frequency self-sustained pulsations in pipes with closed side branches. The theory successfully explains the acoustic and hydrodynamic conditions for resonance in experiments with a single side branch. It also predicts the order of magnitude of the pulsation amplitude and the effect of losses due to friction and radiation. A high pulsation level, with acoustic velocities of the order of magnitude of the main flow, is observed in a double side branch set-up when the edges at the junctions are rounded. When in the double side branch set-up the rounded upstream edge of the second T-joint is replaced by a sharp edge, the pulsation amplitude is reduced by a factor of five. This effect, which can be explained with the theory of vortex sound, leads us to the design of spoilers. Various “spoilers” have been tested in scale model and full scale experiments. Some of these reduce the pulsation level by 40 dB.

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