Session
2026 Session 3
Location
Orem, UT
Start Date
5-4-2026 9:20 AM
Description
Noise radiation from high-performance military jets is a significant challenge for launch personnel working on aircraft carriers. Modern noise reduction technologies focus on nozzle modifications to disrupt the development of the turbulence and thereby reduce acoustic radiation. While this process may serve to reduce noise, the potential of reducing thrust limits the feasibility of this technology. As such, other methods, such as barriers, need to be explored. This paper investigates the potential of a curtain of bubbly water to reduce jet noise at an observer. Noise radiation around a barrier is modeled using a cross-spectral diffraction framework developed by Olaveson 2026. Under this framework, it is shown that a barrier can significantly reduce the observed noise, but including bubbles provides a negligible improvement under realistic conditions. A best-case scenario is also examined by treating the barrier as an anechoic surface. Finally, the importance of including coherence in the source description is discussed in the context of the radiated field. In the end, using barriers to control jet noise is fundamentally a diffraction problem.
Assessing the Potential of a Bubbly Water Curtain for Jet Noise Reduction
Orem, UT
Noise radiation from high-performance military jets is a significant challenge for launch personnel working on aircraft carriers. Modern noise reduction technologies focus on nozzle modifications to disrupt the development of the turbulence and thereby reduce acoustic radiation. While this process may serve to reduce noise, the potential of reducing thrust limits the feasibility of this technology. As such, other methods, such as barriers, need to be explored. This paper investigates the potential of a curtain of bubbly water to reduce jet noise at an observer. Noise radiation around a barrier is modeled using a cross-spectral diffraction framework developed by Olaveson 2026. Under this framework, it is shown that a barrier can significantly reduce the observed noise, but including bubbles provides a negligible improvement under realistic conditions. A best-case scenario is also examined by treating the barrier as an anechoic surface. Finally, the importance of including coherence in the source description is discussed in the context of the radiated field. In the end, using barriers to control jet noise is fundamentally a diffraction problem.