Radiation and scattering of sound from a vortex ring (Q1105455)

The mechanisms of generation and scattering of sound by a vortex ring are investigated on the basis of fluid dynamics. The vortex ring can serve as a simple dynamic model of the large-scale structures observed in shear flows. Moreover, it is probably the most easily studied vortex element that can be created experimentally. The sound scattering investigation also serves to determine the extent to which the vortex is affected by sound, its selectivity with respect to such parameters as the acoustic frequency, the angle of incidence of the wave, etc. The perturbed motion is considered against the background of the steady-state motion of the ring. The perturbed motion in the vortex core is determined on the basis of linear incompressible fluid dynamics. Two terms of the expansion in the M number of the far acoustic field generated by the perturbations in the core are found in accordance with Lighthill's theory. The acoustic power and directivity of the radiation and the acoustic instability growth rate are calculated. It is shown that the scattering of sound by the vortex ring is a resonance effect, and the scattering amplitude near resonance is determined. The acoustic action on the hydrodynamic structure of the flow in the core of the ring is especially intense near the resonances and extends over a period short as compared with the characteristic time of the acoustic instability.