Gas Turbine Engine Exhaust Jet Shear-layer Pressure Measurement System

ATA Engineering proposes an SBIR program to design, develop, and demonstrate a jet shear-layer hydrodynamic pressure measurement system capable of detecting large-scale organized turbulence structures in full-scale military/commercial engine exhaust plumes. The ability to detect such structures at full-scale on an engine test stand is the necessary precursor to the ultimate goal of full-scale noise reduction through models that can be used for prediction and control of the spatio-temporal evolution of the jet shear-layer turbulence. ATA and its partners will leverage a breadth of expertise in the modeling of jet noise and the measurement, interpretation, and far-field projection of aeroacoustic noise sources using a high-resolution continuous-scan array technology developed under F-35 program SBIR funding and demonstrated at model-scale. Acquisition of fluctuating pressure data with a continuously moving array maximizes the efficiency of the data sampling in terms of sensor count, acquisition time (hence, engine run time), and measurement accuracy. The objective of the Phase I SBIR effort will be to determine the feasibility of the design of a near-field measurement system and propose a candidate mechanical and software design that can be built and demonstrated post-Phase I in an engine test stand environment.