Generation of locked-on flow tones: Effect of damping

The overall objective of this investigation is to determine the effect of variable damping on the pressure response of a deep cavity. The pressure fluctuations arise from coupling between the unsteady shear layer along the cavity opening and a resonant mode of the cavity. The damping of the cavity is tuned to desired values without changes of geometry or other parameters.The amplitude of the cavity pressure fluctuation as a function of flow velocity is characterized for the first, second and third acoustic modes of the cavity. For each mode, variation of the value of damping over a relatively wide range yields corresponding attenuation of the pressure amplitude. For higher acoustic modes and sufficiently large damping, abrupt decreases of the pressure amplitude occur at threshold values of flow velocity.The variable damping of the deep cavity does not significantly alter the eigenfrequencies of the system. The peak response amplitude of the pressure fluctuation, however, occurs at a value of Strouhal number that increases with increasing values of damping. Moreover, this peak response amplitude, when normalized by the free stream dynamic head, generally shows a linear variation with the value of damping, for three acoustic modes of the cavity.The strength of lock-on of the pressure oscillation, as a function of the degree of damping, is evaluated in terms of the coherent and broadband pressure amplitudes. Both amplitudes are attenuated for increased damping; the difference between them, however, remains relatively large (40 dB minimum), thereby indicating well-defined lock-on, even when the amplitude of the spectral peak of the coherent component is substantially attenuated.