Development of generalized prediction methods for flow-generated noise produced by indoor ventilation systems

Indoor environmental quality is affected by the acoustical performance of a ventilation system and flow-generated noise is one of noise problems encountered in the system. It is important to accurately predict the flow-generated noise produced by in-duct elements at design stage because it is difficult to solve the problems after the commissioning of the system. Several works have been contributed to develop a generalized prediction method. However, most prediction techniques are based on the data obtained from the conventional measurement methods. Instead of relying on the conventional measurement approach to the obtaining of flow and acoustical data, the author and his co-investigator(s) have recently investigated the feasibility of applying the technique of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to the prediction of flow-generated noise produced by in-duct elements. The problems encountered in the development of the prediction methods are discussed and the recent works on the prediction of the flow-generated noise using CFD are introduced.