An Experimental Study on the Radiation Noise Characteristics of a Centrifugal Pump with Various Working Conditions

To investigate the radiation noise characteristics of a centrifugal pump under various working conditions, a noise measurement system is established; afterwards, the distribution of different points and intervals, as well as the overall level of noise, are studied. The total sound pressure level distribution for different points manifests the dipole and asymmetric directivity characteristics. Additionally, the acoustic energy is introduced to compare the noise of different intervals to reveal the asymmetric characteristics, and it is found that variation in working conditions has little impact on the acoustic energy distribution, and the ratio of the acoustic energy in the direction facing the tongue, as well as that in the direction against the tongue, to total acoustic energy fluctuate around 0.410 and 0.160, respectively, under various working conditions. Also, the A-weighted average sound pressure level (LpA) is applied to describe the overall level of noise, and LpA increases gradually with the growth of rotational speed, but the growth slope decreases. While in the operation of throttling regulation, LpA shows the trend that first increases, then remains stable, and increases again with the growth of flow rate. This study could provide guidance for optimizing the operating conditions and noise control of centrifugal pumps.