The influence of vortex shedding on the diffraction of sound by a perforated screen

This paper examines the theory of the interaction of sound with a slit-perforated screen in the presence of a uniform, subsonic tangential mean flow on both sides of the screen. The sound induces vortex shedding from sharp edges of the screen. The coupling of this vorticity with the mean flow leads to a significant modification in the predicted acoustic properties as compared with those predicted by the classical treatments of Rayleigh (1897) and Lamb (1932). In particular a considerable portion of the incident acoustic energy can be lost during the interaction, and is convected away in the mean flow in the form of localized vortical disturbances. The analytical results provide theoretical support for the use of perforated plates to inhibit the onset of cavity resonances in, for example, cross-flow heat exchangers.