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Mach Number In the study of aircraft that fly at supersonic speeds, it is customary to discuss aircraft speed in relation to the velocity of sound (approximately 760 miles per hour (mph) at 59°F). The term “Mach number" has been given to the ratio of the speed of an aircraft to the speed of sound, in honor of Ernst Mach, an Austrian scientist. If the speed of sound at sea level is 760 mph, an aircraft flying at a Mach number of 1.2 at sea level would be traveling at a speed of 760 mph × 1.2 = 912 mph. Frequency of Sound The term “pitch" is used to describe the frequency of a sound. The outstanding recognizable difference between the tones produced by two different keys on a piano is a difference in pitch. The pitch of a tone is proportional to the number of compressions and rarefactions received per second, which in turn, is determined by the vibration frequency of the sounding source. A good example of frequency is the noise generated by a turbofan engine on a commercial airliner. The high tip speeds of the fan in the front of the engine creates a high frequency sound, and the hot exhaust creates a low frequency sound. Loudness When a bell rings, the sound waves spread out in all directions and the sound is heard in all directions. When a bell is struck lightly, the vibrations are of small amplitude and the sound is weak. A stronger blow produces vibrations of greater amplitude in the bell, and the sound is louder. It is evident that the amplitude of the air vibrations is greater when the amplitude of the vibrations of the source is increased. Hence, the loudness of the sound depends on the amplitude of the vibrations of the sound waves. As the distance from the source increases, the energy in each wave spreads out, and the sound becomes weaker. As the sound wave advances, variations in pressure occur at all points in the transmitting medium. The greater the pressure variations, the more intense the sound wave. The intensity is proportional to the square of the pressure variation regardless of the frequency. Thus, by measuring pressure changes, the intensities of sounds having different frequencies can be compared directly. Measurement of Sound Intensity Sound intensity is measured in decibels, with a decibel being the ratio of one sound to another. One decibel (dB) is the smallest change in sound intensity the human ear can detect. A faint whisper would have an intensity of 20 dB, and a pneumatic drill would be 80 dB. The engine on a modern jetliner, at takeoff thrust, would have a sound intensity of 90 dB when heard by someone standing 150 ft away. A 110 dB noise, by comparison, would sound twice as loud as the jetliner’s engine. Figure 3-49 shows the sound intensity from a variety of different sources.
Doppler Effect When sound is coming from a moving object, the object’s forward motion adds to the frequency as sensed from the front and takes away from the frequency as sensed from the rear. This change in frequency is known as the Doppler effect, and it explains why the sound from an airplane seems different as it approaches compared to how it sounds as it flies overhead. As it approaches, it becomes both louder and higher pitched. As it flies away, the loudness and pitch both decrease noticeably. If an airplane is flying at or higher than the speed of sound, the sound energy cannot travel out ahead of the airplane, because the airplane catches up to it the instant it tries to leave. The sound energy being created by the airplane piles up, and attaches itself to the structure of the airplane. As the airplane approaches, a person standing on the ground will not be able to hear it until it gets past their position, because the sound energy is actually trailing behind the airplane. When the sound of the airplane is heard, it will be in the form of what is called a sonic boom. |
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