Journal of Sound and Vibration (1982) 82(l), 17-27

THE USE OF RESONATORS

TO SILENCE CENTRIFUGAL BLOWERS

G. H. KOOPMANN
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77004, 1J.S.A.

AND

W. NEISE
Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuc&anstalt fiir Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.,
Institut fiir Turbulenzforschung, Berlin, Germany

(Received 13 May 1981)

The casing of a 235 mm diameter, commercially produced, centrifugal blower was

modified by replacing the cut-off of the scroll with a quarter-wavelength resonator. The
mouth of the resonator was formed from a perforated plate which had the same curvature
as the original cut-off section. Tuning of the resonator was achieved by changing the
length via a movable end plug. Noise measurements were made in anechoically terminated
inlet and outlet ducts over a range of aerodynamic loading conditions. It was found that
the extent of the reductions in the blade passing frequency tones in both the inlet and
outlet duct varied with the orientation of and the extent of open area on the mouth
perforate. By introducing a splitter in the resonator mouth, substantial reductions in both
the inlet and outlet duct were achieved over a large range of aerodynamic loading.

1. INTRODUCTION
This paper presents the latest results of an ongoing research project on noise reduction
in centrifugal blowers which began at the DFVLR-Institut fiir Turbulenzforschung in
Berlin in 1978. In that first study [l], it was observed that the noise of a small, laboratory
built, six bladed, centrifugal blower could be reduced significantly by replacing the cut-off
of the scroll with the mouth of a quarter-wavelength resonator. To preserve geometric
similarity, the mouth of the resonator, which was formed from a perforated plate, was
given the identical curvature of the cut-off region and the same distance from the impeller
periphery. Tuning of the resonator was achieved by changing the length of the cavity
via a movable end plug. Before and after noise measurements were taken in an anechoi-
tally terminated outlet duct at free delivery conditions. The inlet flow passed directly
into the inlet nozzle of the blower, When the resonator was tuned appropriately,
reductions in blade passing frequency (BPF) tones up to 29 dB were observed with
corresponding overall sound pressure level [l] reductions of up to 7 dB(A).
These observations raised a host of questions regarding the nature of the phenomenon,
which have formed the basis for this ongoing research. Of particular interest is
the mechanism by which the reactive/resistive device acts to reduce the radiated acoustical
energy of the blower. Several coupled parameters are involved in the process such as
resonator mouth porosity and hole size, and air flow behavior near the cut-off region,
to name but three.
Coupled with these considerations are those of more immediate and practical nature.
In short, will the device effectively reduce the noise of larger, commercially produced
17
0022-460X/82/090017 + 11 %03.00/O @ 1982 Academic Press Inc. Cl.ondon~ LimIted
18 G. H. KOOPMANN AND W. NEISE

blowers operating under different acoustic and aerodynamic loading in both outlet and
inlet ducts? The last part of this question is a critical one since, in the initial study,
measurements were made only in the outlet duct leaving open the possibility that the
introduction of the resonator merely shifted the impedance of the system to make the
inlet nozzle a better sound transmitter than the outlet duct.
The present study began as an attempt to answer these more practically oriented
questions, but not unexpectedly several insights into the nature of the sound reduction
mechanisms emerged as the study progressed. This paper presents the most recent results
and includes some plausible explanations about the mechanism, especially with regard
to the role of the geometrical parameters of the mouth.

2. DESCRIPTION OF NOISE TESTING FACILITY AND

TEST CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER
The blower and noise testing facility are shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively. The
commercially produced, centrifugal blower has 12 backward curved blades on a 235 mm
diameter wheel which is belt driven from a 2 h.p., variable speed, D.C. motor. The
254 mm diameter inlet and outlet ducts, which are vibration isolated from the blower,
were fabricated from 1 mm, galvanized sheet metal. Both ducts are fitted with ports

c ‘-I
235 mm
die
Cbi

Figure 1. (a) Side section view of centrifugal blower showing arrangement of the mouth, cavity, and end
plug of the quarter-wavelength resonator extending from the cut-off of the scroll. (6 = 3.7 mm, 12 blades).
(b) Top section view showing position of the twin cavities of the quarter-wavelength resonator relative to the
impeller of the centrifugal blower.
 RESONATOR SILENCING OF BLOWERS 19

Inlet duct AnechoIc Nozzle

termination
203 x 286

Anechoic
termination
203x286

Thr ottle
Figure 2. Schematic of fan noise testing facility. Dimensions in mm.

at their mid-lengths to allow the measurement microphones to be removed from the

permanently mounted Briiel and Kjaer (B & K) turbulence screens for calibration. The
ducts are connected to anechoic terminations which comply with the proposed I.S.O.
standard.
The inlet duct is preceded by a 196 mm diameter inlet nozzle fitted with static pressure
taps to measure the volume flow rate. The aerodynamic loading of the blower is achieved
by throttling the flow after the outlet anechoic termination by placing various sizes of
perforated screens across the air flow. Static pressure taps are also located around the
periphery of the inlet and outlet ducts near the blower for differential pressure measure-
ments. Differential pressures are measured on slanted tube manometers.
To monitor the r.p.m. of the blower, a small disk with 60 holes near its outer radius
is mounted directly to the shaft of the impeller. An optical sensing unit placed near this
radius generates 60 TTL pulses/revolution which are counted electronically.
The acoustic measurements within the inlet and outlet ducts are made with half-inch,
B & K microphones which are inserted into B & K turbulence screens. These are
suspended within the duct on fine wires at a radius 0.65 times the duct radius. The
acoustic signals are analyzed with a narrow band (3.16 Hz) B & K heterodyne filter
which is slaved to a B & K beat frequency oscillator. The oscillator is synchronized to
the D.C. motor controller via a feed back circuit involving a frequency to voltage
converter. In this study, impeller speed ranges varied from 1000-5000 r.p.m. The corres-
ponding range of blade passing frequencies thus varied from 200-1000 Hz.

3. CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER MODIFICATIONS

The cut-off of the blower casing scroll was modified as shown in Figure 1. To determine
maxima for the levels of noise reduction achieved with the addition of the resonator, it
was necessary to examine cases where the BPF component was originally strongly
predominant within the noise spectrum. Since the level of the BPF component is inversely
20 G. H. KOOPMANN AND W. NEISE

proportional to the cut-off clearance [2], this type of spectrum was obtained by positioning
the resonator mouth sufficiently near the impeller (S = 3.7 mm). The mouths of the
quarter-wavelength resonator, which replace the cut-off section, were constructed as
modular sectibns to facilitate a comparative study between the solid cut-off case and the
resonator mouth case for different perforate porosities and hole sizes.
The cavity of the resonator consists of two rectangular ducts which are terminated
with adjustable end plugs. Initially, two separate cavities were constructed to span the
entire width of the blower casing as shown in Figure l(b). However, early tests on the
resonator to the side of the impeller indicated that its presence had little effect on the
noise reduction mechanism. It was subsequently made inoperative by filling its mouth
section with modelling clay which was shown to be acoustically equivalent to the solid
cut-off case.
Acoustic pressure measurements on the resonator directly in front of the impeller
were made with a half-inch B & K microphone fitted to a calibrated probe tube. The
probes were located both at the plug end of the cavity and along the center of the mouth
section. Pressure measurements on the flow side of the mouth perforate were also taken.

4. IN-DUCT ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENTS

Figures 3(a) and (b) show the reference noise characteristics of the blower in terms
of the sound pressure level, L,measured in the inlet and outlet duct respectively. In this
case, the resonator mouth was replaced with a solid section of identical geometry. The
plots were generated on a B & K level recorder which was synchronized to the r.p.m.
of the blower. Thus, the frequency scale, 400-1000 Hz, can also be read as an r.p.m.
scale by multiplying by a factor of five which gives a corresponding range of 2000-
5000 r.p.m. Note that the difference between the A-weighted sound pressure level, LA,
and that of the blade passing frequency component, L BPF,is small indicating that the

Solid I
I / 1 Cut-Off i i
500 600 700 800 900 1000

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 3. Noise characteristics in the (a) inlet and (b) outlet ducts of the blower (solid cut-off) as a function
of blade passing frequency for a nearly optimum loading condition, dMeD.
 RESONATOR SILENCING OF BLOWERS 21
BPF tone is predominant in the overall spectrum. The LBpF fluctuations in the outlet
duct above 800 Hz are due to the onset of higher order duct modes and fall outside of
the frequency range considered in this study.
The results shown in Figure 4 were obtained with the solid cut-off replaced by a
perforate (PERFl) O-95 mm thick with a 3.4 mm hole diameter and a 40% open area.

400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 4. Reduction in L.B~F in the (a) inlet and (b) outlet ducts of the blower as a function of blade passing
frequency and resonator cavity length, for a nearly optimum loading condition, 6~~~.

(Note that in this part of the study, the upper part of the resonator mouth (Sections I-3)
was covered with a fabric tape.) The length of the resonator cavity was varied in
incremental steps from 1= 108 mm to I = 140 mm. The outlet flow was throttled to give
a nearly optimum loading condition denoted by the dimensionless coefficient, c&r).
Figure 4(b) illustrates the types of L BPFreduction that occur due to the presence of the
resonator. For each selected cavity length, a substantial reduction in LBPFis observed
at a frequency whose quarter-wavelength corresponds nearly to the length of the res-
onator. Note that the extent of the reduction is different for each length setting indicating
that an optimum resonator impedance exists for a given flow condition at a particular
frequency.
The most revealing aspect of this part of the study was that the presence of the
resonator with the particular mouth configuration described had little reduction effect
on the LBPF in the inlet duct. In fact, over a small frequency range, the LBPF actually
increased. This observation led to a series of studies to determine whether or not LRpF
reductions in the outlet and inlet duct were sensitive to different local impedances on
the mouth of the resonator. To begin, the mouth perforate was divided into eight sections
running the length of the perforate, a side view of which is shown in Figure 5(c). Various
sections were then covered with fabric tape to produce a set of combinations involving
22 ‘3. H. KOOPMANN AND W. NEISE

120

I IO

100

90

80
m
-o
70
120

1 I 1 II 1 (1’1
450 500 600 700 800 900 1000

450 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 5. Comparison of LnPF measured in the inlet and outlet ducts for the solid cut-off versus the resonator
mouth cut-off as a function of aerodynamic loading and blade passing frequency. (Mouth geometry: PERFl
with Sections 1-8 open, cavity length- L = 124 mm). (a) 4MAX; (b) q5MBD; (c) &rN.

Number of open sections

Figure 6. Block chart illustrating effect of resonator mouth geometry (number and orientation of open
sections) on the LnPF reductions in the outlet duct at the 4 MED aerodynamic loading condition.
 RESONATOR SILENCING OF BLOWERS

I \,__z
E’ 1 2-t---->
24 G. H. KOOPMANN AND W. NEISE

the number and orientation of the open sections. For each combination the Lnpr reduction
in both the inlet and outlet duct were measured. Figures 5(a)-(c) illustrate a typical set
of LBpF curves for a fixed resonator length at the three different loading conditions: free
delivery loading, &,*x, optimum loading, &,.,ED, and heavily throttled loading, &i~. It
should be noted that the attenuation observed at the low frequency end of the curves
is due to air flow through the resonator mouth (equivalent to increasing the cut-off
clearance) and does not involve the response of the resonator. When all the perforate
sections are open, the resonator behavior as a function of the aerodynamic loading
condition is unpredictable. In going from the C$MAXto the ~&nb condition, the appreciable
reductions in LBPF shift from the outlet duct to the inlet duct. For the 4MiN condition,
reductions occur in both ducts at nearly the same frequency.
Figure 6 shows the LBpF reduction in the outlet duct as a function of number and
orientation of the open sections of the perforate. Each block represents the result of a
single test: e.g., the front block at the extreme left of the chart indicates that a 6 dB
reduction in LBPF is obtained when Sections 1-7 of the perforate are covered; in this
case, the mouth of the resonator consists of a single open strip at the Section 8 position.
Note that a LBpF maximum reduction occurs in the outlet duct for a mouth geometry
with five open sections centered around Section 6. A similar study on the inlet duct
indicated that a LspF reduction was most sensitive to changes in the sections over the
upper region of the perforate, particularly over Sections l-3.
These observations prompted the introduction of the splitter arrangement to the
resonator mouth as shown in Figure 7(b). The rationale followed was that the effect of
the splitter prevents communication between the upper and lower sections of the per-
forate. Thus, the inlet and outlet duct are exposed only to those sections of the perforate
to which they are most sensitive: namely, Sections l-3 for the inlet duct and Sections
4-8 for the outlet duct.
The results of the LspFmeasurements with the splitter inserted in the resonator mouth
are shown in Figures 7(a)-(c). As in the previous case, the cavity of the resonator was
fixed at a length of 124 mm. Note that the presence of the splitter achieves the desired
effect: i.e., a substantial reduction in L BPFoccurs both in the inlet and outlet duct over
the full range of aerodynamic loading conditions. The changes due to the splitter are
seen most strikingly when Figures 7(a)-(c) are compared with Figures 5(a)-(c). Both sets
of data were taken under the same loading conditions. It is interesting to note in
Figure 7(b) that the maximum reduction in L BPFoccurs in the inlet and outlet duct at
slightly different frequencies. This supports the earlier notion that the impedance is
non-uniform over the surface of the perforate and is highly dependent on the three
dimensional flow in the immediate vicinity of the cut-off region.

5. LB,, MEASUREMENTS WITHIN THE RESONATOR

In the previous sections, the response of the resonator was inferred from the LBpF
measurements taken at the mid-point of the inlet and outlet ducts. To gain an understand-
ing of the response mechanism, L BPFmeasurements were taken directly in and adjacent
to the resonator mouth and cavity with the use of a B & K microphone fitted with a
calibrated, 0.64 mm inner diameter, probe tube. The measurement positions are shown
in Figures 8 and 9. Measurements into the resonator mouth and along the perforate
were obtained by inserting the probe tube through small holes either in the side of the
fan casing or in the adjustable end plug. Figure 8(a) shows the LB,, distribution at the
center of the resonator mouth at various stations along the width of the impeller. Note
 25

Figure 8. (a) LBpF distribution along center of resonator mouth at x = 0, 25, and -25 mm measurement
positions; (b) LBPF and LTor at the resonator bottom as a function of blade passing frequency.

that the pressure at all three stations exhibits a peak near the quarter-wavelength
frequency of the resonator. A similar peak is evident in Figure 8(b) which shows both
the total and filtered pressure near the bottom of the resonator cavity. The data presented
in Figure 8 supports the notion that the resonator responds as a quarter-wavelength:
i.e., the internal pressure distribution is such that a maximum occurs at the plug end of
the cavity.
To study the mechanism by which the resonator acts to reduce the pressure fluctuations
generated by the blade/cut-off interactions, a series of pressure measurements were
taken at the Section 4 position of the perforate at different stations along the width of
the impeller. The case of the solid cut-off was compared with that of the tuned resonator
used in the previous tests. The results shown in Figure 9 indicate that the presence of
the resonator causes a substantial reduction in the pressure generated by the blade/cut-off
interactions. Moreover, it can be seen that the maximum reductions occur at different
frequencies along the four stations considered. This behavior supports the previous
observation involving the in-duct L BPFmeasurements that the impedance of the resonator
mouth is uniform neither along its perimeter nor its span.
26 G. H. KOOPMANN AND W. NEISE

d
m
.c
‘i;
 RESONATOR SILENCING OF BLOWERS 27
6. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
It is felt that unraveling the complexities of the surface impedance of the perforate is
essential to understanding the noise reduction mechanism of the resonator. To this end,
we are presently completing a 508 mm diameter test facility to accommodate larger scale
experiments which hopefully will produce a few more answers to some very intriguing
questions.

7. CONCLUSIONS
It has been demonstrated that the in-duct noise generated by a centrifugal blower can
be reduced significantly by replacing the cut-off sections of the scroll with a quarter-
wavelength resonator which is tuned to the blade passing frequency of the impeller.
Substantial noise reductions have been observed in both inlet and outlet ducts under a
wide range of aerodynamic loading conditions. In addition, noise reductions in both
ducts can be achieved simultaneously by dividing the resonator mouth into two separate
sections by means of a splitter plate arrangement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Electric Power Research Institute,
U.S.A. and the Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt fur Luft- und Raumfahrt,
Berlin, Germany in this work, which was carried out at the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, University of Houston.

REFERENCES
1. W. NEISE and G. H. KOOPMANN 1980 Journal of Sound and Vibrufion 73, 237-308.
Reduction of centrifugal fan noise by use of resonators.
2. W. NEISE 1976 Journal of Sound and Vibration 45, 375-403. Noise reduction in centrifugal
fans: a literature survey.