This research will make significant progress in developing energy-based acoustic sensors and measurement techniques which will provide new insights into acoustic fields. In Phase I, a robust, three-dimensional, energy-based sensor will be developed and commercialized. It will be implemented on an efficient digital platform for acquiring and transmitting data. Energy-based measurement techniques and related software will be developed to determine radiated sound power from sources, enabling efficient in-situ measurements. Energy-based sensor array techniques will be developed to extend characterization of complex acoustic sources by extracting radiation information from sound fields not available from conventional sound pressure measurements. In Phase II, high temperature/pressure capabilities for close proximity rocket plume measurements will be implemented to the energy-based sensor. A more complete understanding of spatial radiation characteristics and energy propagation, both from the source to the sensors and to remote structures, will be determined from energy-based measurements. Energy-based active control techniques will be developed as useful diagnostic tools to acoustically probe rocket sources and increase understanding of radiation characteristics. Energy-based measurements will be used to update and validate CFD models, and relationships between the acoustic and flow fields will be developed such that flow-field predictions can be made from the energy-based measurements. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) : Industry will be given powerful new methods and high quality instrumentation to further characterize sound fields through acoustic energy quantities. These tools will allow users to improve their understanding of sound fields, to surmise global sound field conditions, and to conduct more efficient sound power measurements. They will facilitate in-situ measurements of sound power and radiation from noise sources in industrial settings and improve efficiency of these measurements in laboratory settings. They will enable practical but comprehensive sound field assessments for environmental monitoring, noise control, and active sound field control in aerospace, transportation, audio, manufacturing, construction, and many other industries.
