Acoustical farfield directivity and vibration pattern of propeller eigenmodes in air

The paper describes experimental results of an investigation about the propeller vibration and the directivity of sound radiation for some selected resonance frequencies. in an anechoic chamber the spatial distribution of the amplitudes and phase angles of the sound radiation has been measured by means of the reciprocity method. The results indicate that with increasing numbers of propeller blades the spatial variation of the sound amplitude decreases. The origin of the complex nature of the acoustic directivity characteristics in amplitude and phase is the vibration pattern of the propeller. The eigenvalues and the nodal lines of the eigenmodes have been evaluated by holography or by scanning the propeller surface with two acceleration pick-ups, determining the lines of phase shift. The results reveal, that for several eigenvalues the vibration amplitudes of the blades differ from each other and no vibration symmetry exist. The spatial structure of the amplitude and phase variation ca uses a very special spectral noise signature of a rotating and vibrating ship propeller.