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The turbulent boundary layer (TBL) that forms on the outside of a commercial airplane in flight is a significant source of noise. During cruise, the TBL can be the dominant source of noise. Because it is a significant contributor to the interior noise, it is desirable to predict the noise due to the TBL. One modeling approach for the acoustic prediction is statistical energy analysis (SEA). This technique has been adopted by North American commercial airplane manufacturers. The flow over the airplane is so complex that a fully resolved pressure field required for noise predictions is not currently analytically or numerically tractable. The current practice is to idealize the flows as regional and use empirical models for the pressure distribution. Even at this level of idealization, modelers do not agree on appropriate models for the pressure distributions. A description of the wall pressure is insufficient to predict the structural response. A structural model is also required.

The turbulent boundary layer (TBL) that forms on the outer skin of the aircraft in flight is a significant source of interior noise. However, the existing quiet test facilities capable of measuring the TBL wall pressure fluctuations tend to be at low Mach numbers. The objective of this study was to develop a new inlet for an existing six inch square (or 6×6) flow duct that would be adequately free from facility noise to study the TBL wall pressure fluctuations at higher, subsonic Mach numbers. First, the existing flow duct setup was used to measure the TBL wall pressure fluctuations. Then the modified inlet was successfully used to make similar measurements up to Mach number of 0.6. These measurements will be used in the future to validate wall pressure spectrum models for interior noise analysis programs such as statistical energy analysis (SEA) and dynamic energy analysis (DEA).