Optimization of Variable Depth Acoustic Liners with Grazing Flow

Acoustic liners, typically used as a noise control treatment in the engine nacelles of conventional aircraft, are being considered for noise treatment in the proprotor ducts of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. This work considers a new optimization method to design an acoustic liner with variable depth cavities for broadband and low-frequency attenuation. This method, termed the direct optimization method, minimizes the radiated sound from a duct. In this paper, the new method is compared with an existing indirect method to design multiple variable depth acoustic liners. Acoustic impedances of liners designed using both methods are predicted using a semianalytical impedance model and impedance predictions for two designs are compared to experimental results acquired from grazing flow impedance testing. For the work presented here, liners designed using the indirect approach provide improved attenuation spectra over those designed using the direct approach but potential improvements to the performance of the direction optimization method are discussed.