276696-NOISERADIATIONBYAREFRIGERATORCOMPRESSOR.pdf

[Applications Overview] [Home] [LMS] Noise Radiation by a Refrigerator Compressor Jean-Louis Migeot LMS Numerical Technologies Matthew Jones LMS North America 1.0 Problem Description A refrigerator compressor is located in a cylindrical casing with hemispherical endings. It rests on a horizontal circular plate which is welded to the cylindrical case. The vibrations of the casing are inducing an unacceptably high noise level in the room, especially at specific rotation speeds. The objective of this application note is to predict the sound pressure level, and to assess the importance of the structure-borne and air-borne transmission paths. The structure-borne noise is caused by the vibrations of the casing induced by the compressor imbalance force. The air-borne noise is generated by the vibrations of the casing induced by an alternating pressure distribution, which is created on the casings internal surface by the noise radiated by the compressor itself. The structural eigenmodes have been calculated using I-DEAS Model Solution. The first eigenfrequencies are listed in the Table 1, and eigenmodes 1 and 11 are displayed in Figure 1: Mode # Frequency (Hz) Mode # Frequency (Hz) 1 158 2 337 3 337 4 511 5 558 6 568 7 642 8 819 Table 1: Structural Eigenmodes Figure 1: Half Mesh and Modes 1 and 11 2.0 Structure-borne Noise A unit rotating force is defined in the xz plane at the center node of the horizontal plate, and the pressure response is evaluated in the [500, 1500] Hz range using SYSNOISE. The frequency response functions (FRFs) for three response points are shown in Figure 2: 9 831 10 838 11 852 12 863 13 963 14 976 15 1009 16 1015 17 1051 18 1149 19 1150 20 1181 21 1250 22 1385 23 1393 24 1419 25 1448 26 1449 27 1497 28 1508 29 1518 30 1656 Figure 2: Structure-borne FRFs for Points 2, 3, 4 3.0 Air-borne Noise The air-borne noise is caused by a source located at the radiating center of the compressor. The effects of a unit source are ca