129

COMBUSTION ENGINES GROUP

MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE

'

By R. Bertodo, C.Eng., M.I.Mech.E.*, and J. H. Worsfold, B.Sc.t

The paper briefly reviews past work on diesel engine noise with particular reference to medium speed engines.
A survey carried out on a large number of British and European turbocharged and water-cooled diesels having
bores in the range 23 in to 33 in (- 70 mm to 840 mm) clearly indicated at least two main sources. A qualita-
tive analysis of the problem suggested these to be due to combustion and piston transverse motion in the liner
clearance space. None of the engines examined had an International Standards Organization rating lower than
Noise Rating 85.
A comparison of theoretical trends with those obtained from the survey proved encouraging and application
of the analytical findings to five specific engines having bores of 5 in, 8 in, 104 in, 12+ in and 14; in (- 127 mm,
200 nun, 260 mm, 320 mm and 360 mm) yielded reasonable estimates of the overall noise, but poor approxi-
mations to the relevant frequency spectra. Much more work on the effects of crankcase attenuation would
appear in order.
It is concluded that the wider acceptance of medium speed diesels will not lead to increased noise problems
provided appropriate action is taken at the design stage. Broad design recommendations are presented and the
causes of variations of noise with time and of engine to engine scatter discussed. The marked improvements
obtained on a 14a in (- 360 mm) bore engine are shown.

INTRODUCTION research, and, when the decision was taken to develop a

DURING THE PAST two decades there has been a marked
increase in the demand for improved economy and reli-
ability in both marine and industrial applications. In many
instances this need has been met, and will continue to be
met, by diesel engines or diesel engine driven machinery,
the economic requirements being achieved by reduced
capital and operating costs. The success of the medium
speed engine in this role is based on the wide acceptance
of turbocharging, increased rotational speeds and thermal
ratings by users and the adoption of higher grade materials
and the achievement of more favourable power/weight
ratios by the manufacturers.
Unfortunately, the quest for power units having greater
power and compactness has led to inherently higher linear
vibration and noise levels regardless of size; this has been
aggravated by the use of lighter, more efficient, structures
at a time of greater public awareness of the discomfort
produced by machinery devoid of acoustic treatment. T h e
authors are associated with a manufacturing group which
has always been to the forefront in engine design and
The M S . of this paper was received at the Institution on 6th June
1968 and accepted for publication on 23rdJuIy 1968. 22
* Chief Research Engineer, Ruston and Hornsby Ltd, Research
Centre, P.O. Box 17, Lincoln.
t Research Engineer, Ruston and Hornsby Ltd, Research Centre,
P.O. Box 17, Lincoln.
Proc Inrrn Mech Engrs 1968-69
range of medium speed engines with space frame crankcase
structures (I)* of low specific weight, it was felt that within
the manufacturing life cycle of the design, quietness would
become increasingly attractive to potential customers. No
relevant design data was available for medium speed
engines and the investigation described here was, therefore,
undertaken.
For many years diesel engine manufacturers have been
aware of the implications of noise and as long ago as 1944
(2) the then British Internal Combustion Engine Research
Institute undertook sponsored studies on the subject.
For economic reasons, the majority of this and subsequent
work was carried out on low cubic capacity high speed
units but, even in these sizes, little practical outcome has
resulted, mainly on the grounds of cost. As far as can be
determined from published work, investigations on medium
speed engines have been largely restricted to the pioneer
work of Zinchenko (3), who obtained noise data from sixty
individual Russian diesel engines (covering some 20 basic
designs) in the power range 10 hp to 3500 hp and derived
an appropriate empirical relationship. Recently Ungar and
Ross (4) have attempted to provide a theoretical justifica-
tion for Zinchenko's findings and Priede and co-workers
* References are given in Appendix 2.
Vo1183 Pr 1 No 6
130 R. BBRTODO AND J. H. WORSFOLD

(5) obtained frequency spectra from 2 medium speed
engines during the course of a six engine survey of indus-
trial diesel engine noise. As far as the authors are aware
no other published work of relevance exists and no exten-
sive consideration of medium speed engines has ever been
attempted before.
PRELIMINARY S U R V E Y
A large number of factors are known to affect the noise and
vibration characteristics of diesel engines, but, intuitively,
not all such factors appeared likely to be of primary im-
portance. The consensus of informed opinion on the
subject (5)-(9), based largely on the behaviour of small
engines, has long suggested that combustion effects,
i.e. principally peak pressure and rate of pressure
rise, are predominant and power/weight ratio, in so far
as it affects structural stiffness and noise containment, a
contributory factor. It appeared essential, as a pre-
liminary measure, to confirm this for medium-speed
engines, since the number of parameters requiring de-
tailed analysis could then be greatly reduced and the
investigation simplified accordingly. An initial survey of
noise generated by diesel engines currently in production
was therefore undertaken, to provide qualitative data. All
the engines considered appeared devoid of acoustic
treatment other than exhaust silencers, intake filters and,
in one case, some additional turbocharger intake attenua-
tion.
A total of thirty-eight engine types having bores in the
range 2.75 in to 33.0 in (-70 mm to 840 mm), with
silenced intake and exhaust, were examined. Air cooled
and naturally aspirated engines were purposely excluded
from the survey since their behaviour was considered
irrelevant to the principal aim of the investigation. For the
purpose of this work the engines tested (which included
both 4- and 2-stroke engines of British and European
manufacture, 12 produced by the authors' organisation)
going ships. These engines had bores in the range 8 in
to 19 in (- 200 mm to 480 mm) and rated speeds of
300 rev/min to 1000 revlmin.
(4) Low speed, 2-strokeY cross-head engines, pre-
dominantly used as main propulsion units for merchant
vessels, having bores in excess of 17 in (- 430 mm) and
operating speeds below 215 rev/min.
All tests were carried out on B.S. 2869: Class A fuels,
whenever possible at the declared British Standard
continuous rating, at the injection timing recommended
by the manufacturers and at a water jacket outlet tempera-
ture of 180°F (-82'C). Measurements were obtained
with conventional Bruel and Kjaer equipment at a station
mid-way along the crankcase 3 ft (W 1 m) from the radiat-
ing surfaces and 6 ft (- 2 m) from the ground. The dis-
tance of 3 ft was chosen because it was outside the close
field range, but not so far away from the engine surface to
be impractical in most installations, due to the proximity
of walls and obstructions. Where appropriate, reverbera-
tion corrections were applied. The results, in dB re
-0.0002 dynes/cm2, are shown in Fig. 1, plotted against
bore size; the results should be considered in the light
of an engine-to-engine scatter (based on f3 standard
deviations) of f 5 dB and a measurement accuracy of
f l dB.
Based on the premise of predominant dependence upon
combustion effects and power/weight ratio, the prevailing
noise level was expected to fall gradually with increasing
size since
( a ) the brake mean effective pressure (b.m.e.p.) was
lower for large bore engines;
I5O 11). I I IlllV' I I
Industrial high speed High performance and speed
Bore < 6in (- 150 m m ) Bore 6 in - loin (- I50 - 2 5 0 mm)
1401
Speed 1600-3600 rev/rnin Speed 900- I800 revlmin
(I I.
'%dium speed l o w speed

-;
N

were subdivided into groups so as to highlight trends I Bore 8in- 19in(-200-420mm) Bore>17in(-430rnm)
Speed 300- 1000 rev/min Speed< 215 rev/min
particular to an individual range of engines. The sub- __
I301Engine with cast and Aspace frame structure
divisions were as follows : fobricated structure j w i t h and without
~

acoustic measures
(1) High speed industrial engines having bores of . ___
N
8 120. I 1
6 in (W 150 mm) or less and rated speeds in the range 0
0
1600 rev/min to 3600 rev/min. These were essentially
automotive engines of the type examined by Priede and
co-workers or industrial engines of similar concept. Some
engines previously examined by Priede were included in
t
y B .

( I V ~ m
the survey. ~

(2) High speed, high performance engines having

bores and operating speeds in the range 6 in to 10 in
(- 150 mm to 250 mm) and 900 revlmin to 1800 rev/min
respectively. This sample was made up exclusively of
high power/weight ratio engines of the type commonly Bo
used for rail traction and as main propulsion units for
high speed crafts.
(3) Medium speed engines of the conventional type
used in industrial and low tonnage marine applications
and now replacing the slow speed diesel on some ocean
Proc Iiistn Alech Etigrs 1968-69
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE
(6) the peak cycle pressure was lower in the larger
engines;
(c) the peak rate of pressure rise was lower for low
speed, large-bore engines; and
( d ) the weight/power ratio increased from 6-10 lbjhp
for automotive size engines to 60-100 lbjhp for low speed
marine diesels.
This was clearly not so in the present case, even allowing
for the inherent characteristics of a particular engine sub-
division (i.e. the high power/weight ratio of group (2)
engines). Ungar and Ross have demonstrated that mech-
anical noise can be a significant portion of the total noise
and a qualitative analysis of the various possible mech-
anical sources suggested that transverse motion of the
piston in the liner clearance space will then predominate.
Such an explanation accounted for the relative quietness of
low speed engines, which were exclusively of the cross-
head type, and, therefore, free from this source of excita-
tion. Since the impact force varies, to a first approximation,
as the cubic capacity and the rotational speed squared,
this appeared likely to produce a nett increase in noise
with bore. This explains the peak in noise level in the
middle of the bore range being considered.
As further evidence of this mechanism, the variation
in noise level with load at rated speed was obtained for a
range of engine bores. There is published evidence to
suggest that the mechanical noise is not affected greatly by
engine load so that the summation of this and combustion
effects gave a 3 dB noise increase when both sources con-
tributed equally to the total level. Further increases in
combustion noise raised the level until it reached a condi-
tion where it was completely controlled by combustion
effects. This part of the work showed that combustion
noise was predominant in most group (1) and all group (4)
engines and mechanical noise often predominant in group
( 3 ) engines. On the evidence so accumulated, the main
work programme on the company's engines was restricted
to the identification, measurement and theoretical defini-
tion of these two noise sources.
THEORETICAL C O N S I D E R A T I O N S
From a knowledge of basic mechanisms of impacts, it is
possible to formulate a relationshp between the noise
emitted from a structure and factors such as transmission
efficiency of the structure, acoustic efficiency of the struc-
ture and piston motion. This relationship and its deriva-
tion are outlined in Appendix 1.
Acoustic power
From a consideration of the relationship given in
Appendix 1, the acoustic power W , is given by
and from a consideration of the mechanics of the engine,
it may be shown that
Proc Insrn Mech Etrgrs 1968-69
131
V , = uiR
9
12 y -
dH R
(-j2('--iM,h
dT(d) y'
Jo
where y is the crank to con-rod length ratio, dT(0)jdO the
rate of change of side thrust, y the diametral clearance, X
the distance of the piston impact point from its centre of
gravity (c.g.), h the distance between the gudgeon pin centre
line and the piston c.g., Jo the piston's polar moment of
inertia, e the gudgeon pin offset, M, F, the resultant force
along the centre line of the liner and F, the resultant side
thrust perpendicular to the liner surface. For a two-stroke
engine of cast iron construction and having no gudgeon
pin eccentricity, equation (1) reduces to (in dB) :
(
x 1--
2M,h
Jo )
2'3
'(dH)
dT(0) 2:3
(3)
Frequency spectrum
The velocity spectrum of the impact described by equa-
tion (1) and hence of the resultant noise power may be
shown, by Fourier transformation, to be a function of
equation (10)
(4)
From a consideration of this equation it is evident that
the spectrum will be relatively flat at low frequencies,
where wM,/Zi < 1, and will vary inversely as the fre-
quency at the higher octaves where w M p / Z ,9 1. An
estimate of the transitional frequency may be obtained by
considering the liner as a plate having the dimensions of
its developed form. On this basis medium speed engines
should tend to show attenuation above about 1000 Hz.
Superimposed on this it would appear reasonable to expect
resonances associated with predominant liner modes of
vibration.
Combustion noise
The rapid rise in gas pressure in the cylinder gives rise to a
pressure wave which in turn causes oscillations in the gas
column. The whole manifests itself as an explosive noise,
largely attenuated by the structure, and in deflection of the
combustion chamber components. The work done in
deforming such components is partially absorbed by the
structure and partly transferred as vibrational energy to
the outer surfaces and dissipated as acoustical energy.
Theoretically, it is given by
W , = average force x deflection x volume x frequency
wm2 V A
w,, = __n s -7-
AE' ' ' '
where A and V are the surface area and volume of
the combustion chamber components, w the rotational
1'01 183 P t I N o 6
132 R. BERTODO AND J. H. WORSFOLD

frequency, s the number of strokes and E their Young’s
modulus. The corresponding noise power will be
where qt, qc and rlr are again the‘ transmission, conversion
and radiation efficiencies of the system, and h a representa-
tive section thickness.
Equation (6) represents a higher degree of simplifica-
tion than the corresponding mechanical noise expressions,
since no account has been taken of the influence of rate
pressure rise in the combustion space, or of the peak to
mean pressure ratio. Some modifications appear to be in
order since as cylinder bore is reduced, much higher peak
pressures and rates of pressure rise are used to attain a
given b.m.e.p.
An examination of published data for engines, extending
over the entire bore range considered, suggested that the
pressure diagram crest factor (peak pressure/b.m.e.p.)
could vary over the range 7-16 for turbocharged four-stroke
engines and between 4-10 for turbocharged two-strokes.
I n the light of available theoretical findings
(7)
where c is the crest factor, appeared a more realistic
definition of combustion noise.
which, in turn, varied as DR. Briefly then, W , appeared,
as a first approximation, to be a function of the crankcase
attenuation and D,%LJ~. A similar consideration of equation
(7) suggested that the radiated combustion noise could be
considered as dependent upon crankcase attenuation and
w (peak pressure)2 only. On the basis of bore, speed,
b.ni.e.p. and peak pressure data published in technical
literature, changes in combustion, mechanical and total
generated noise with bore size could be predicted and
these are shown in Fig. 2u.
Much as had been foreseen the predicted combustion
noise levels for engines now in production decrease with
increasing size. The mechanical noise appears to increase
up to about 15 in (- 355 mm) bore and then fall away so
that trunk piston engines greater than 30 in (- 760 mm)
possess mechanical noise levels lower than those predicted
for units at the other end of the range. The relative levels
of combustion and mechanical noise were such that the
combined trend was a gradual decrease in generated noise
power with increasing size. Approximate calculations
based on published data suggested that for medium speed
engines in the neighbourhood of 15 in (- 380 mm) bore
the mechanical noise would, on average, exceed the com-
bustion noise marginally. For a slow speed trunk piston
engine mechanical noise would predominate; because of
this a cross-head engine which has no significant ‘piston

235dB
I 1

1
ESTIMATION OF E N G I N E N O I S E T R E N D S
N
icted total unattenuoted noise varia
I t appeared desirable to apply the theoretical conclusions I 230dB for engines tested
reached in the preceding section to assess the noise and 5
vibration induced in typical modern diesel engines since al
VI 225dB
this would not only serve to provide an indication of the %
‘D
220dB
relative amplitudes of the various contributions but might N
0
suggest design approaches for reducing these levels. If 0
0
the trends so revealed were in agreement with those of
Fig. 1, greater confidence could then be placed on pre- t
m
-0
dicted levels.
An examination of equation ( 3 ) suggests that W , for I 230dB
-I Unottenuated combustion noise
W
mechanical impact would bc approximately proportional 2-
W
-I
225dB (trunk and crosshead designs) -

to the crankcase attenuation (qrqi) and M,w3RR2y-

hi (y14
since Z, for a flat plate having the same dimensions as the
W
E
z
0
220dB

2l5dB
developed liner would be proportional to p,h12 and the z
W
remaining terms of equation ( 3 ) are either constants or .z
W 2 I OdB
4
subject t o only minor changes. T h e ratio y for most I
0
22548
engines is near 1/4 and modern machines tend to be
220dB
constructed with bore/stroke ratio near unity (R N D/2).
Data from a number of engines having bores in the range 2 15dB
5 in to 15 in (- 127 mm to 380 mm) suggested that the
piston mass /swept volume (2Mp/7rD2R) varied only 2lOdBJ
between 0.07 lb/in3 and 0.13 lb/ind (- 0.002 kg/cm3 and
0.0036 kg,’cm?), the lower values being associated with 5 10 15 20 25
aluminium pistons and the upper ones with multipiece BORE SIZE -in
steel and cast-iron ones. The corresponding pistoniliner
hot clearances varied between 10-3D and 5 x 10-3D. T h e Fig. Za. Predicted variation of unatteniruted cotubiistion,
liner thickness varied approximately as its surface area inechanical and total noise
Proc Instti Mech Engrs 1968-69 1-0l 183 PI 1 AVO6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE 133

slap' noise would be some 4 dB to 5 dB quieter. I n both tional cast-iron crankcases. One was examined with a cast
the lower bore groups combustion noise predominates. I n crankcase and also with one fabricated mainly from large
group (1) engines the combustion effect would appear to flat sheets. The fifth engine was of space frame con-
be so predominant that mechanical noise can be ignored. struction with the outer surfaces made up of bolted-on
This is apparently borne out by at least one other experi- doors.
menter (discussion to (11)). Mechanical noise power was estimated from equation (1)
The trend in total potential noise power with bore size and combustion noise from a similar consideration of
was evidently at odds with the radiated noise measure- equation (7). The crankcase transmission loss was ob-
ments obtained during the survey. A consideration of tained from Fig. 2b for all cast crankcases and estimated,
equations ( 3 ) and (7) suggested that the potential noise in the case of fabricated and space frame ones, using the
levels at source could exceed 225 dB compared with the idealization and attenuation factors of Cremer (10) as
radiated levels of Fig. 1, which ranged between 85 dB and described in the earlier section.
120 dB. It was clear, therefore, that crankcase attenuation The vibrational waves induced into the combustion
was always large and undoubtedly accounted for the chamber components by piston impact and gas forces are
greater part of the discrepancies. This was considered at transmitted to the outer crankcase surfaces in attenuated
first to be surprising since it had been shown that, for form giving rise to constrained vibration of the panels
small engines with cast-iron crankcases at least, the attenu- resulting in radiation of acoustic energy. Noise is also
ation varied by no more than f5 dB between engines of generated in the crankcase air spaces and partly contained
different origin and power (7) (11). This was usually less by the outer walls. Determination of the noise spectra
than the variation of cylinder pressure level for the same
selection of engines. Even with specially designed crank-
cases aimed at increased attenuation, improvements of the
order of 10 dB had only been obtained with particularly
favourable cylinder pressure developments. T h e high
weight/power ratio of the large bore engines appeared to
be a further contradictory factor.
A more detailed examination, however, revealed that all
the engines compared in the earlier investigations were of
similar bore size. Also, small engine crankcases, for
geometric reasons, were inherently stiffer than those for
large bore engines. Furthermore, their section thicknesses
were usually dictated not by structural integrity considera-
tions but by foundry requirements. These factors were
considered to have an overriding effect in determining the
acoustic attenuation at the lower bore sizes. This was
supported by the lack of correlation between weight/power
ratio and radiated noise for cast crankcase engines.
T o examine this further the crankcase transmission
losses were estimated for the cast crankcase engines of
Fig. 1, by considering the structure idealized into flat plate
elements for which the attenuation factors have been
derived by Cremer (10). No extension of this work was
attempted and the exercise was, therefore, essentially
rudimentary. Truly meaningful estimates of radiation
efficiency for the audio-frequency range could not be ob-
tained, but the value of 3 x lo-' suggested by Ungar and
Ross (4) was considered suitable in the light of some limited
testing on cylinder blocks of various engine sizes. The
attenuation curve obtained in this manner, corrected for a
distance of 3 ft (,- 1 m) is shown in Fig. 2b. The combined
>
W
f- 1 0 Cast-iron crankcase,trunk piston
total noise from Fig. 2a and attenuation from Fig. 2b o Cast-aluminium crankcase, trunk piston
w
90 . *c 0 Prefabricated crankcase, trunk piston
yielded the curves shown on Fig. 3, where a comparison M Space-frame crankcase, trunk piston
is drawn with the survey data. c
0
z A Cast- iron crankcase, crosshead
I I I

PREDICTION O F N O I S E L E V E L S OF A C T U A L
ENGINES
Noise predictions were made for the five engines listed in Fig.3. Comparison of predicted and actual noise variarion
Table 1. Three of the engines chosen possessed conven- with bore
Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69 Vol183 Pt I A'o 6
134 R. BERTODO AND J. H. WORSFOLD

Table I . Comparison of calculated and measured crankcase noise at 3 f t from radiating surface for 5 engines and 3 crankcase
designs

Speed,
rev/-
Cycle Crankcase structure 1 Predicted noise, dB ictual noise,
IB (scatter in
I.S.O.
rating
Total ~ a d noise
&6 dB)
-
A 180 1800 4-stroke cast 85 96 96.5 97 NR 87
B 245 750 4-stroke cast 96 104 104.5 102 NR 106*
C 200 750 4-stroke cast 98 111 111 104 NR 96
D1 200 600 4-stroke cast 104 110 111 108 NR 98
D2 200 600 4-stroke fabricated 106 112 113 112 NR 106
El 150 450 2-stroke space frame 118.6 114 120 119 NR 111
undamped doors
E2 150 450 2-stroke space frame 107 103 1083 107 NR 104
damped doors
E3 150 450 2-stroke space frame 111 107 1125 110 NR 105
modified liner support
and damped doors

* NR 95, neglecting turbocharger.

therefore implies detailed consideration of the method of By combining the spectral attenuation characteristics of
generation and propagation by the outer walls. the various plate-like sections forming the crankcase and
At low frequencies, the side of the crankcase can reason- cylinder block, an overall attenuation curve could be built
ably be considered as a large plate with irregularly spaced up. By subtracting the mean attenuation at each 1/3
stiffeners. As the excitation frequency rises, a smaller por- octave from the corresponding combined calculated levels
tion of the crankcase wall can be excited, the side wall then of mechanical and combustion noise the noise spectrum
approximating to a collection of smaller plates with for each engine could be built up. Consideration was also
various edge restraints. It appeared possible, therefore, to given to the transmission of air-borne noise from the inside
approximate to the crankcase attenuation spectrum by of the crankcase using Bogolepov’s (12) derivation. No
considering the combined influence of the constituent correction was applied for the liner fundamental frequency
structural elements. due to a rotating transverse wave, as derived from equation
Although five -main types of waves had been identified (8b). The possibility of a standing wave occurring at a
by Cremer, only bending waves were thought to be rele- wavelength of h = 2D was recognized, but no practical
vant. Solution of the classical equation of motion for method exists of estimating its importance. Some dif-
bending waves in thin plates led to ficulty was experienced in predicting accurately the
damping properties of various panels and for this reason
the locations of the main resonance frequencies are marked
on the predicted spectra shown in Figs 5a to 5h. Actual
measured noise levels are also shown. These were obtained
h, h2E
f o = 2T (12(1-@)p )”’ . . (8b)
mainly in the company’s power houses, essentially large
where c b is the bending wave velocity, h the plate thick- volume brick-lined chambers free of obstructions and with
ness, E Young’s modulus, p the material density, p
Poisson’s ratio, A, the bending wave wavelength and f o the
corresponding frequency. 1 I I I 1 1 1
For any plate of finite size a large number of resonances
will exist, but if significant energy losses occur in the plate
I l i l i I l
-
or at its boundaries, which is the case in practice, only the
first few modes of vibration will contribute significantly to
8
s
3
the noise. A further drop in attenuation will occur when J Resonances /
the wavelengths in the plate and in the surrounding -I-
4
I
I
medium coincide. From a consideration of equation (8a) aI
I
and setting cb = c (the velocity of propagation of waves in I
I
the surrounding medium)
f, /cr
FREQUENCY

i
The transmission behaviour of a typical plate is shown in
Fig. 4. Fig. 4. Attenuation spectrum of a jlat plate
Proc Inrrn Mech Engrs I96849 Vol I83 Pr I No 6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE 135

known reverberation constants. Intake and exhaust con-

tributions were eliminated as far as possible by appropriate
ducting.
A consideration of measured noise levels from a produc-
tion batch of engine B and D suggested that the engine to
engine scatter in overall noise level at 3 fi amounted to
f 5 dB (f3 standard deviations). Fig. 5b shows the typical
variations in spectra noted during this exercise. I n the
light of this the theoretical and experimental data shown
in Table 1 would appear to be in adequate agreement for
most purposes. The degree of correlation between the
corresponding spectra does not appear to be equally
satisfactory and much further work on crankcase attenu-
ation would seem necessary.
On a more general plane, the suggestion that the major
part of the noise energy, whether of a combustion or
mechanical nature, originates in the combustion chamber
region would appear justified from an examination of the
transverse and longitudinal noise distributions. These
suggest that conventional cast crankcase medium speed
diesels are essentially non-directional in plan and longi-
tudinally, but possess a plane of maximum noise level
approximately level with the piston’s top dead centre
(t.d.c.) position. This is indicated graphically in Fig. 6 for
engine D 1. This is not necessarily so on less conventional
crankcases, where some of the vibrational energy can be
transferred down towards the crankshaft level by appro-
priate design action, or on high speed engines where, for
geometric reasons, less distinction exists between the
characteristics of the cylinder block and crankcase, which
may, in any case, be integral.
On engine E a reduction of International Standards
Organization noise rating (N.R.) from N.R. 111 to N.R.
104 was effected by fitting damped crankcase doors.
By restraining the liner at its lower extremity it was found
possible to transfer much of the vibrational energy away
from the water jackets and towards the crankcase without
any significant increase in overall noise.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The relatively large scatter in overall noise level obtained
from apparently identical engines suggests that good cor-
relation between calculated and measured noise levels
might be difficult to achieve except under fortuitous cir-
cumstances or where statistically meaningful experimental
data is available. Although the predicted overall levels are
probably sufficiently accurate for most purposes, the large
discrepancy between calculated and measured spectra
suggests that much~morework on crankcase attenuation is
required before specific attenuation predictions can be
made at the design stage and appropriate measures
recommended.
, ..
The conclusion that most of the potential noise energy f REOUENCY-H:

is generated in the combustion space region is important a Engine A. c Engine C. e EngineD2. g EngineE2.
since the transmission path from the liner, piston and b Engine B. d Engine D1. f Engine El. h Engine E3.
cylinder head flame plate to the outer surfaces of the en-
gine will directly affect the radiated noise levels as well as Fig.5. Comparison of calculated and spectral measured levels
Proc Instn Mech E w s 196869 Voll83 Pt 1 No 6
136 R. BERTODO AND J. H. WORSFOLD

------,pdB \
\
\
/.__--------------1oo(.Ja
/

-. '
. -- - -- - ------- 105 dB
/'

..
----_ 105dE
\
\
\
\
/
,
/
/

\
\
\
\ \
\
lOdB '\ I

'\
\
\
\
\

- 3f t

Fig. 6. Transverse and longitudinal noise distribution on a cast-iron crankcase medium speed diesel

the noise distribution ar.ound the engine. For example, tion of, say, a medium speed engine as against a slow speed
the high noise level noted near the top of the liner (i.e. one, for example, would not therefore alleviate the acousti-
within the region usually enclosed by the water jackets or cal problems.
cylinder block on medium speed engines) can be reduced The large engine to engine scatter noted suggests that
significantly by channelling more of the vibrational energy some selection may be possible for sensitive applications
towards the lower crankcase (as on engine E3) where it although tight control of the critical parameters may in the
can be more readily dealt with by panel damping. The end prove more economic. I n so far as combustion noise
maximum noise level, as distinct from the crankcase noise is concerned both the peak cycle pressure and the rate of
level, can be greatly reduced in this manner. Clearly, on pressure development would appear critical. As far as can
medium speed engines, the introduction of damped crank- be determined from extensive testing on a single engine
case panels alone need not result in a significant reduction (engine Dl), there would appear to be an inherent varia-
in overall noise. tion with time of radiated noise, under apparently identical
Isolation of the liner and cylinder head assembly from test conditions, of f l . 5 dB to f 2 - 0 dB which can be
the engine's main frame and enclosure of the top part of accounted for entirely by non-cyclic variations in the
the machine may well prove the most economic practical pressure diagram. Approximately half of the engine to
step in future design. This would inevitably render peri- engine scatter could be ascribed to production tolerances
pheral noise sources more significant, particularly if such on components likely to affect the pressure diagram, i.e.
measures led to medium speed engine noise levels below, bumping clearance, etc. Variations in water jacket and
say, 90 dB. The difficulty that might be then expected intercooler temperatures and boost pressures probably
from the turbocharger can be readily appreciated from a accounted for the remainder.
consideration of Fig. 5b. The turbocharger noise is not I n so far as mechanical noise is concerned, the most
usually significant either in absolute terms or subjectively, sensitive items leading to engine to engine scatter would
in so far as medium speed engines are concerned. The appear to be piston mass and radial clearance, gudgeon pin
main contribution from this source normally occurs in the location and friction, liner wall thickness and speed.
approximate range 4 kHz to 12 kHz and the peak rarely Variations in energy loss at the various mounting flanges
exceeds 95 dB. Only a reduction of engine noise below and bolting surfaces are obviously critical but these have
this value, as on engine B, would make this source a not been investigated during the present work.
problem. Very little work has been carried out at part load; the
The degree of correlation obtained between calculated indications are, however, that mechanical noise is not greatly
and measured levels would suggest that the assumptions affected by load variations. Since no alteration in injection
used are generally valid. This suggests that the wide timing with load is normally attempted, it would appear
acceptance of the medium speed engine is likely to lead to reasonable to expect a fall in peak pressure with decreasing
inherently high noise levels unless appropriate steps are load. The peak rate of pressure rise would also fall mar-
taken at the design stage. None of the engines examined ginally at part load, rising again as the injection time be-
during the preliminary survey fell below an I.S.O.rating came comparable with the delay period. On idle the delay
of N.R. 85. Consequently it must be concluded that all would exceed the injection time, giving high rates of pres-
current turbocharged diesels within the size explored are sure rise and knock. Thus, on medium speed engines, with
probably unsafe on the basis of Burns' criterion. The adop- predominant combustion noise components, the radiated
Proc Iiastn M r c h Engrs 1968-69 Vol 183 Pt I .Vo 6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE
levels might reasonably be expected to vary as the peak
pressure, at least as a first approximation, down to the
lowest practical loads.
CONCLUSIONS
A survey of radiated noise from 38 different engine types
having bores in the range 2$ in to 33 in (-70 mm to
840 mm) suggested that the overall values could be
ascribed to two sources. Further consideration of this
data led to the conclusion that the two effects involved
were probably combustion and mechanical. Piston trans-
verse motion in the clearance space appeared qualitatively
to represent by far the largest mechanical noise component.
Theoretical values of combustion and mechanical noise
modified by estimated crankcase attenuation gave trends
broadly in agreement with the survey data. Application of
the theoretical findings to 5 specific engines led to reason-
able predictions of overall levels but indifferent approxi-
mations of the relevant spectra. It is concluded, therefore,
that much more work on structural attenuation is required
before detailed analyses of new engine projects can be
attempted with confidence. Indications are that the wider
acceptance of medium speed diesel engines will not lead
to increased noise problems provided appropriate steps
are taken at the design stage.
On a more general plane, the principal source of radiated
noise on medium speed engines would appear to be located
in the region of the water jackets or cylinder block.
Significant reductions in overall levels are possible by
channelling some of the vibrational energy towards the
crankcase proper where attenuation by panel damping can
be attempted. Worthwhile reductions were obtained in
this manner on a 142 in ( - 3 6 0 mm) bore space frame
engine. Significant variations in noise level with time and
from engine to engine were noted for engines of the same
range tested under identical conditions. These could be
explained in terms of known tolerances and variations
in engine components, suggesting that some benefit on
existing designs could be obtained by attention to minor
details.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the Directors of Ruston and
Hornsby Limited, for permission to publish this paper.
They also wish to express their appreciation for the en-
couragement and forbearance of their Research Manager,
Mr A. J. Glasspoole. A number of colleagues are thanked
for their assistance and critical comments.
APPENDIX 1
Mathematical formulation of mechanical noise
mechanism
Mechanical noise
The instantaneous velocity of a structure of mechanical
impedance 2, impacted without rebound, and neglecting
Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1 9 6 8 4 9
137
damping effects, by a mass M , with velocity Vois given by
v = V, e-LZi'Mp . . - (10)
where t is the time measured from the instant of impact.
The energy absorbed by the impacted body will be
W = +M,Vo2 . . . . (11)
Approximate calculations based on equation ( 1 1) will
readily show that, provided the components are correctly
designed, piston impact against the liner, due to trans-
verse motion across the clearance space, is potentially the
highest mechanical noise source and that on medium speed
engines it will swamp the combined effects of all the other
mechanical noises (i.e. cams and tappets, ring flutter,
tooth meshing, valve seating and injector vibration).
Conversion eficiency
The energy radiated by an impacted body as sound power
may be defined as
Wp = 77rZaArVr' . . * (12)
where Za = pat, and 2, is the acoustic impedance of the
medium into which noise is radiated, p a and c, are the
density and velocity of sound of this medium, A , and v,
are the area and velocity of the radiating surface and yr is
the radiation efficiency. If a transmission loss occurs
between the radiating and impacted surfaces,
+Mtvt27t = ilPrhrArvr' * * (13)
where M , and vi are the mass and velocity of the impacted
structure, vt the transmission efficiency and prhrA, and vr
the density, thickness, area and velocity of the radiating
structure. The velocity Y , of the impacted surface depends
upon the impedance 2, and the vibratory power W , since
and the efficiency of conversion of vibratory energy into
radiated noise becomes
where pihi and A , are the density, thickness and area of the
impacted structure.
Acoustic eficiency
The total mechanical work done by a diesel engine may be
expressed in terms of its mean effective pressure (m.e.p.).
For a single cylinder engine, this work done per cycle will
be
2wApRm
w, = ~
77s
. . . .
where w is the rotational frequency, A , the piston area, R
the crank radius, m the mean effective pressure and s the
working strokes per cycle. The vibratory impact power will
be
Vol 183 Pt I No 6
138 R. BERTODO AND J. H. WORSFOLD

whence the vibratory efficiency becomes (4) UNGAR, E. E. and ROSS,D. ‘Vibrations and noise due to
piston slap in reciprocating machinery’, 3. Sound Vib.
MP
WlJ
” I r e - =W,,,
- 4A,Rm2 ‘’’ . . (18)
1965 2 (No. 3), 132.
( 5 ) PRIEDE,T. and GROVER, E. C. ‘Noise of industrial diesel
engines’, Proc. Instn mech. Engrs 1966-67 181 (Pt 3C), 73.
and the acoustic efficiency (6) PRIEDE,T. ‘Relation between form of cylinder-pressure
diagram and noise in diesel engines’, Proc. Auto. D i w .
”I, = 7 l c 7 u Znstn mech. Engrs 1961 176 (Pt 2), 63.
(7) AUSTEN,A. E. W. and PRIEDE,T. ‘Origins of diesel engine
noise’, Symp. on Engine noise and noise suppression 1958
19 (Instn Mech. Engrs, London).
(8) VICHNIENSKY, R. ‘Le bruit des moteurs i combustion
APPENDIX 2 interne’, Zng. de l’dutomob. 1959 32 (No. l), 67.
REFERENCES (9) BRADBURY, C. ‘Noise emanating from oil engines’, Oil
(I) MOUND, G. W. and FLEAR,B. S. ‘The design of a space- Engine and Gus Turbine 1951 19 (No. 222), 312.
frame crankcase for a large medium-speed diesel engine’, (10) CREMER, L. ‘The propagation of structure-borne sound’,
Proc. Znstti mech. Engrs 1966-67 181 (Pt 3H), 24. 1948 D.S.I.R. Sponsored Research (Germany) Report
(2) NESTORIDES, E. J. ‘Noise of internal combustion engines: No. 1, Series ByRef. No. 9975.
report for Wilson Committee and historical survey of the (11) PRIEDE, T., AUSTEN,A. E. W. and GROVER, E. C. ‘Effect of
Noise Reduction Panel’s work’, 1962 B.I.C.E.R.Z. engine StruCNre on noise of diesel engines’, Proc. Insttr
Rept No. 6219. mech. Engrs 1964-65 179 (Pt 2A), 113.
(3) ZINCHENKO, V. I. Noise of marine dieseI engines, 1957 (12) BOGOLEPOV, I. I. ‘Sound insulation capacity of structures’,
(Sud-promgiz). Sudostroenie 1963 29 (No. 4), 6.

Proc Instn Mech Etigrs 196849 i’ol I83 Pt I No 6


Discussion
Dr A. E. W. Austen, B.Sc., C.Eng., F.1.Mech.E.-The
authors of this paper make claims that, if substantiated,
represent a breakthrough in the field of engine noise.
I n the results presented in Table 1 and Fig. 5 they
purport to have calculated for a number of engines from
the geometry, power and engine speed only, the noise
emitted by those engines; this they compare with the
measured noise and obtain agreement for the most part
well within 10 dB. This is a claim so remarkable that one
is bound to ask the question ‘Is it believable ?’.
The general method of calculation is appropriate; the
authors consider the noise in the combustion chamber,
calculate the attenuations of the various sections of the
acoustic path to the outside and so arrive at the noise out-
side. I want to consider the first quantity : the noise inside
the combustion chamber. On careful re-reading, however,
it was not clear to me whether the authors mean noise in
the combustion chamber or noise in engine components
adjacent to the combustion chamber. I was still further
confused by the fact that in equations (6) and (7) of the
paper, the quantity defined as acoustic power W,does not
appear to have the dimensions of power. I am assuming,
however, that equation (7) represents an excitation and
should be expressed in the units used for noise.
Now the first thing to notice is that equation (7) con-
tains no term representing noise frequency and so is
independent of frequency and a graph of it will be a
horizontal line. But cylinder pressure can be and has been
measured as a noise; and its spectrum can be calculated
from the measured (or calculated) variation of pressure
with time.
The result in both cases (Fig. 7) shows a large decrease
of level with increase of frequency. The measured value is
about 40 dB per decade.
There is a bump at the high frequency end of the
spectrum which depends on the abruptness of the cylinder
\ Dr J. N. Butters, B.Sc. (Graduate)-The paper repre-
\ sents a wide survey of diesel engine noise and an in-
>
0
FREQUENCY
Fig. 7
Proc Inrtv Mcch Engrs 1968-69
139
pressure rise. Comparing this with the authors’ expression
it is clear that their assumption differs from the truth by
as much as 40 dB over even one decade. Yet there is no
sign of any such discrepancy in the graphs of Fig. 5.
There is a further difficulty. With variation of engine
speed at a given b.m.e.p., the form of the cylinder pres-
sure is to a first approximation constant on a base of crank
angle (not time). Therefore with increasing speed the
spectrum of cylinder pressure moves to increasing fre-
quency in step with the increase of speed. Thus for a
10-fold increase in speed, the noise intensity would be
expected to increase by 40dB. The measured value is
30 dB for a 10-fold increase, or noise intensity varies as
speed3.
The authors’ equation (7) contains engine speed but
only to the power 1. So they underestimate the effect of
speed by speed2. For the range of speed (3: 1) for engines
in which combustion noise predominates, a to e in Fig. 5,
this represents a discrepancy of 10 dB. Thus we should
expect the calculated noise in a to be too low by 10 dB
or that in e too high by 10 dB. There is no sign of this
discrepancy.
I cannot at present escape the conclusion that the
agreement between calculation and experiment shown by
the authors in Fig. 5 is entirely fortuitous and that their
claim is not credible.
I invite them to consider the following three proposi-
tions :
(1) That I have grossly misunderstood their state-
ments, particularly equation (7).In that case considerable
clarification is necessary since I have established that I
am not alone in interpreting their statements in this way.
(2) That they should explain why my version of the
excitation produced by cylinder pressure is wrong and
that their expression, constant with respect to fre-
quency, is right.
(3) That they should seek compensating errors else-
where in their calculations, e.g. in the calculation of the
attenuations, and put both those and the cylinder pres-
sure excitation right. If they can do that they can justly
claim a very remarkable achievement.
teresting empirical correlation with type. I am a little
surprised that so little consideration has been given to the
vibrational aspects of the problem. Clearly the noise is
Vo1183 Pt I No 6
140 DISCUSSION
a
Fig. 8. Vibration patterns on an impeller disc at frequencies of 4 k H z and 6 k H z
experienced as a result of coupled vibrations between
disturbing sources in the engine and the air adjacent to the
measuring microphone or ear. There are many mechan-
isms in any engine by which energy can be converted to
elastic vibration or noise. At one extreme, gaseous
coupling between the combustion region and atmosphere
through exhaust, inlet or piston clearance may be possible
but in nearly all cases such elastic coupling is possible
through one metal thickness involving two gas/metal
interfaces. Secondary generation such as that arising from
piston slap is shown to be a significant contribution. I n the
latter case it is not unusual to find excessive noise asso-
ciated with rapid linear wear and corrosion caused by
cavitation in the cooling water. This cavitation arises from
linear wall vibration and consists of the rapid formation
and collapse of small air bubbles which both locate and
augment a noise source. Rapid gas motion may also be
responsible for the generation of elastic vibrations magni-
fied at the resonant frequencies of its boundaries.
To theoretically analyse these and other sources of
noise and vibration would be an impossible task but it is
desirable to locate major noise generators in the engine.
Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69
If this were done it may be possible to further reduce
noise at the design stage with a possible bonus of extended
engine life and reliability resulting from reduced vibra-
tional stress.
This view is supported to some extent in that less
noisy, low power/weight ratio engines also tend to give
the longest service. Further analysis along these lines
would be useful to establish the overall desirability of
applying acoustic principles in the design stage. Investi-
gation of the vibration characteristics of a complex com-
ponent by conventional methods is not easy but the
relatively new technique of holographic interferometry
provides a simple qualitative method for examination of
vibrational modes. The principle based on laser inter-
ferometry produces an immediate photographic record of
the contours of a vibrating surface, showing clearly the
nodal positions and providing a measure of vibration
amplitude. T h e resolution of such a system is in incre-
ments of 0.3 microns, enabling representative patterns to
be obtained with low input energy.
T o illustrate this I am enclosing three holographic
maps of vibrating surfaces. Figs 8a and 86 show the
Vol I83 PI 1 i\'o 6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE
b
Fig. 8-contd
vibration patterns on an air impeller at two different fre-
quencies whilst Fig. 9 shows the vibration on an ordinary
speaker cone. The patterns and amplitudes have surprising
similarity when one considers that the impeller would
ideally operate silently whilst the speaker is specifically
designed to make noise. It may be possible to employ the
technique more widely as an aid to designing components
for low acoustic resonance.
Mr D. E. G. Crutcher, B.Tech., C.Eng., M.1.Mech.E.
-1 would like to comment on a number of points raised
in the paper.
Variation of noise Zewel with bore size
A number of figures have noise level plotted against bore
size for various engines. This gives the impression that
bore size is the important factor governing noise level
when in fact the authors say that combustion noise and
mechanical noise are the main contributing sources. Surely
neither are strictly dependent on bore size and, therefore,
l’roc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69
141
would it not have been more logical to have plotted a series
of curves of noise level against hp/cylinder for given bore
sizes, since both combustion noise and mechanical noise
increase with increasing horsepower 3
Near field limit
Measurements were made at a distance of 3 ft from the
radiating surface because it is said that this was outside
the close field range. The definition of close or near field is
given as the area around a noise source where the particle
velocity is not necessarily in the direction of travel of the
wave and an appreciable tangential velocity component
may exist at any point. It is frequently characterized by
appreciable variations of the sound pressure with position
even when the source is in free space (anechoic chamber).
Moreover, the acoustic intensity is not simply related to
the sound pressure squared. The extent of the near field
of a noise source depends on the frequency, on a charac-
teristic source dimension and on the phases of the radiat-
ing parts of the surface. The characteristic dimension may
vary with frequency and angular orientation. I t is difficult,
Vo1183 Pt 1 No 6
142
Fig. 9. Vibration patterns on a wide angle speaker cone (Crown copyright reserved)
therefore, to establish general limits for the near field of
an arbitrary source with accuracy. However, a simple
expression given by Peterson and Gross in Handbook of
noise measzrrement relating the wavelength of radiating
sound in air with the speed of sound and the frequency
may be used to give an approximate position of the near
field :
vo
A = - feet
f Far from neglecting damping this assumption implies that
where f is the frequency in Hertz and v a is the speed of
sound in air in feet per second.
Then in order that the near field effect should not be
very important, measurement should be made at least one
wavelength away from the source. This dimension should
be determined on the basis of the lowest frequency of
interest. In this case the distance is approximately 45 ft.
Would this also explain some of the engine to engine
variations ?
Noise contours
It is not stated in the text whether the sound pressure
contours of Fig. 6 are measured in dB(A), dB(B), dB(C),
overall linear or what. Presumably also the frequency
must be varying along a contour since at various positions
Proc Insrn M e c h Engrs 1968-69
DISCUSSION
around the engine the maximum dB level is created by
different components.
Some of the implications of equation (10)
The mechanical impedance of a structure is in general a
complex quantity variable with frequency. I n order to
derive equation (10) from the fundamental laws of
mechanics it is necessary to assume that the mechanical
impedance is a real constant not variable with frequency.
the structure can be represented by a dashpot. Implicit
in equation (10) then are the assumptions that there are
no important resonances of the structure in the frequency
range of icterest and that the stress waves generated by the
impact are damped out or scattered before they can be
reflected back to the point of impact.
Channelling of vibrational energy from cylinder casing to
crankcase
Would the authors care to elaborate on the methods used
for redirecting the vibrational energy from one part of the
engine to another?
Dr.-Ing. W. Hempel and Dip1.-Ing. T. Seidl (Augs-
burg, Germany)-This paper presents a very interesting
1’01 I83 ft I No 6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE
analysis of the main noise source of the medium-speed
diesel engine, the result being a procedure for calculating
engine noise in advance on the assumption that this noise
is composed primarily of piston slap and combustion noise.
However, for the purpose of simplification, effects were
neglected which probably have a great influence on noise
development. Mention should be made here of the damp-
ing effect resulting from the oil film between piston and
liner and, in particular, of the influence of the rate in
pressure rise in the combustion space on both the com-
bustion noise and the piston slap.
The accuracy of the calculation procedure will be
dependent on how far it is possible to determine the fac-
tors of the transmission and radiation efficiency for a given
engine crankcase structure. Rough estimates will probably
have to suffice in this respect. We therefore doubt whether
it will be possible with the procedure described, even if it
is well founded theoretically, to produce final results in
respect of the overall noise that are more accurate than
those calculated by means of empirical formulae obtained
from statistics only.
Cordier and Reyl (13), for example, have stated a
formula including the mean piston speed cp (m/s), the
stroke s (dm) and the number of cylinders z :
L = 69+30 log cP+5 log s+5 log z
It is still simpler to calculate the weighted noise level, A,
by means of formulae which are only functions of the
speed n (revlmin) and output N e (PS). Such a formula was
first stated by Slawin (14).With new and improved
coefficients this formula reads :
L = 10 log n + 5 4 log Ne+55
When using the latter formula the dB(A) levels of high-
speed high-performance engines are higher than those
of medium-speed engines, and the latter are again
higher than those of low-speed engines. This is in agree-
ment with our measurements taken on M.A.N. engines
but is, to some extent, contrary to the results the authors
> I
y g 90
0 I
3g
r o w
80
m
0
70 63 125 250
-
IMedium-speed
--
Fig. 10. One-third-octave spectra of low-, medium- and high-speed engines
Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69
143
have shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 10 gives typical spectra for these
three groups of engines. It can clearly be seen that the
high-frequency noise increases from the low-speed engines
to the high-speed engines.
This is, however, quite different with the high-pressure-
charged low- and medium-speed engines with an m.e.p.
above 15 kp/cm2 (215 lb/in2). The dB(A) level of these en-
gines, which in this case is determined primarily by the
turbocharger noise, is of the same order or even above the
values of the high-speed high-performance engines and
the spectrum contains marked high-frequency peaks. The
little attention which has been given to the turbocharger
noise in this paper is probably due to the fact that the
investigations were mainly concentrated on engines with
a medium m.e.p. and that only unweighted linear
levels were stated which are of less interest as regards the
aural impression. Elimination of the turbocharger noise
is possible; an improvement in intake silencing will,
however, not be sufficient as considerable noise is radiated
from the charge-air pipe, the charge-air cooler and the
turbocharger housing. I n our opinion the turbocharger
noise from high-pressure charged medium- and low-speed
engines represents a noise source that should not be
neglected (15).
REFERENCES
(13) CORDIER,0. and RE^, G. SAE Paper 680 405, 1968.
(14) SLAWIN,I. I. ‘Industriekrm und seine Bekampfung’,
VerIag Technik Berlin 1960.
(15) HEMPEL,W. SAE Paper 680 406, 1968.
Mr D.C. Jeffs (Brighton, Sussex)-With regard to the
mechanical noise generated by a diesel engine mention
should be made of the findings of a Committee, of which
the writer is a member, formed by the Office of Research
and Experiment (O.R.E.) of the International Union of
Railways which might be of interest. The two major topics
investigated so far relate to noise produced solely by various
mechanical moving parts (16)when an engine was motored
I I
I I
I
I I
I
I I
I I
I 1
I I
I I
I 1
~ L - d
500 1000 2000 4000 8000 d0 (A) (LIFI
I30
14.4 DISCUSSION
and the noise of an engine running normally before and
after its fundamental overhaul (17).The first investigation
was an attempt to define the contribution made by the
various mechanical components, e.g. fuel pumps, valve
gear, etc., to the overall noise level. The measurements
were made for a 16-cylinder turbocharged, 4-stroke diesel
engine (V-form) with direct injection and a rated output of
1400 hp at a speed of 1500 rev/min, with the various parts
working separately, thus enabling the contribution by each
to the overall noise level produced to be evaluated.
The results showed that the noise radiated by the
different moving parts increases considerably with speed.
Under test conditions, the overall noise emitted at the
nominal rated speed of 1500rev/min was as high as
98 dB(A), by far the greater part of which was due to the
piston and connecting rod assemblies (94 dB(A)); on the
other hand, this level drops sharply to 80.5 dB(A) when
the engine is idling (550 rev/min) and then the noise of
the injection pumps, although reduced from 86.5 to
78.5 dB(A), becomes predominant and that of the piston
and connecting rod assemblies drops to 71.5 dB(A). I n
other words at the high-speed rating the piston and con-
necting rod assemblies account for about 45 per cent and
the injection system and pumps for 15 and 20 per cent of
the total noise respectively; at low speed the noisiest part
was the injection system (55 per cent) and the lubricating
oil pumps and piston assemblies account for 25 and 15
per cent of the total respectively. The above determina-
tions were carried out in accordance with I S 0 Recom-
mendation No. R.495-1966 (IS).
In the second investigation it was found that the noise
produced by a 12-cylinder diesel V-form engine rated
at 1200 hp at 1500 revlmin was practically independent of
its service life. The generated noise level of this engine,
after running about 12 000 h at a distance of 3 m from
the engine, rose from 95 dB(A) at idling to 106 dB(A) at
full load. After overhaul the levels were found to be
0.5 dB(A) higher. The air intake noise, measured 35 mm
inside the open duct, increased from 100.5 dB(A) at
idling to 121.5 dB(A) at full load and after overhaul were
1.5 dB(A) higher. The exhaust noise level 1 m from the
outlet was found to rise from 98 dk(A) at idling speed to
117.5 dB(A) at full load and after overhaul was 0.5 dB(A)
lower.
Noise measurements in the vicinity of the engine (5 cm
distant) showed that the greatest level was radiated from
the crankcase, ranging from 108 dB(A) at idling to
118 dB(A) at full load. The noise levels just below the
cylinder covers were 5 dB(A) lower and just above were
8 dB(A) lower. Between the measurements before and
after overhaul an average difference of level of 0.5 dB(A)
existed.
In an attempt to calculate the noise level of an internal
combustion engine, the following empirical formulae
were tried in order to check their validity with the results
from the above engine.
Zinchenko (19)deduced the following relationship for
slow-running ships’ diesel engines:
Proc Insrn Meeh Engrs 1968-69
[ J6JJ
L = 72+15.8 log nD - 3 - dB(C) (20)
where n = revlmin.
D = cylinder diameter (m).
i = number of cylinders.
S = stroke (m).
According to Abrahamsen ( t o ) the following expression is
valid for fast-running engines :
L = 30 log n+ 10 log P dB(C) . . (21)
Slawin (14)suggested the following for slow- and fast-
running engines :
L = 30 log n+ 12 log P-9 dB(C) . (22)
I n expressions (21) and (22), n = rev/min, P = output
At various engine speed and loading conditions the
above expressions were compared with the measured
levels at 1 m distant and according to expression (20) the
calculated levels were found to be 0.5-9 dB higher than
those measured.
Essentially greater differences between calculation and
measurement were found from expressions (21) and (22),
ranging from 7-5-18 dB. In this connection a further
attempt was made to find a wider and, if possible, a better
relation for the preliminary calculation of the sound level
of internal combustion engines.
The following relationship (21) was found to give a
good comparison between calculation and measurement
and was derived from 23 diesel and seven Otto engines
from eight manufacturers, running at speeds from
250-4500 revlmin developing from 4.25-2670 hp and
with a number of cylinders ranging from 1 to 20:
L = 26 log n+12 log Nps-5.5 dB(C)
or L = 26 log n+12 log P K w - 4 dB(C)
where n = rev/min.
Nps = output (hp).
PRw = output (kW).
It is hoped that the above data on mechanical engine noise
without combustion taking place will be of some interest
to the authors. It has been shown here to what extent the
various components contribute quantitatively to the overall
noise level and that the major component at or near to full
speed is due to the piston and connecting rod assembly.
The results of the second investigation showed that,
even after considerable running, a diesel engine does not
produce any marked increase in the level of noise emitted.
Can the authors say whether they considered this aspect
and whether similar determinations on the wide range of
engines they checked were made ?
A further point I should like to mention is that in-
variably a diesel engine is installed in a confined space, and
our past experience has shown that the noise level within
an enclosure can rise by as much as 12 dB. I would like
to suggest that this should not be lost sight of since it is
the level measured in its operating location that is likely
Vol 183 Pt I No 6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE
to give rise to concern. I n this connection can the authors
say whether all the engines mentioned in Table 1 of their
paper were examined under comparable conditions, and
if measurements were made in confined spaces were
allowances made for the effects of this ?
REFERENCES
(16)Report No. 3, Otfce of Research and Experiment of the
International Union of Railways, Utrecht, 1968.
(17) Report No. 2, Office of Research and Experiment of the
International Union of Railways, Utrecht, April 1968.
(18) ‘Methods of measuring noise produced by rotating machin-
ery’, No. R495, 1966, International Standards Organ-
ization.
(19)ZINCHENKO,V. I. ‘Lam von Schiffsdieselmotoren’,
Verlag Sudpromgiz 1957,Moscow (in Russian).
(10)ABRAHAMSEN, E. ‘Ubersicht uber die Schifslilmbektimpfung
in den skandinavischen Liindern’ MTZ 1960 21,187.
(21)Lib-, E., MITTAG,G. and PORT, E. ‘Subjektive und
objektive Bewertung von Maschinengerauschen’, Acous-
tics 1964 14, 105.
Mr L. S. LePage, B.Sc. (West Drayton, Middlesex)-
The authors in their summary have stated that their com-
parisons of predicted with actual noise levels yielded
reasonable estimates of the overall noise, but poor
approximations to the relevant frequency spectra.
On this conclusion, one may surely take the opposite
point of view. From an appreciation of the considerable
complexity of the task of predicting the external noise
level starting from that in the combustion chamber, and
noting the informed comments which have been made
this evening on some of the procedures used, the authors
should feel pleased that their calculated one-third-
octave levels are in the circumstances so remarkably close
to those observed (Fig. 5). Nevertheless, the authors need
positively to dispel any suspicions that this relatively good
agreement has been achieved fortuitously, as the agree-
ment is far from being so consistent as to be its own con-
firmation of the validity of the methods used.
In the case of overall noise, it is apparent that the close-
ness of the predicted and actual noise levels (Table 1)
has in fact been a matter of chance. Overall levels are
presumably obtained from an addition of the one-third-
octave levels shown in Fig. 5, and where there is an
outstanding component it will dictate the total level of
that spectrum. I n the case of Engine A, for example, the
agreement is really between the observed noise level at
200 Hz and the predicted level at 1000 Hz, although the
actual differences at those frequencies are + 9 dB and
-9 dB respectively (Fig. 5a). It would, therefore, seem
unethical to juxtapose predicted and actual levels as in
Table 1 and to claim such very close estimates (within
3 dB) of overall noise.
I would support another speaker who suggested the
measurement of vibration levels on the surfaces of the
engines, but of course such measurements take up time.
It was gratifying to note the noise level reductions
(described in the paper) from the use of dumped crank-
case doors, a modification arising out of discussions
Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69
145
between representatives of Messrs. Ruston and Hornsby
and the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory. Strictly
speaking, this type of covering is a form of acoustic
cladding rather than damping, in so far that the mass-
spring principle is invoked of using a heavy inert covering
material isolated from the engine surface by very flexible
polyurethane foam.
Mr E. N. Lovatt-Smith, C.Eng., M.1.Mech.E.-The
authors are to be commended on their presentation of a
paper covering a very wide approach to the problems of
diesel engine noise.
If this paper is considered in conjunction with B.S. 4142
it will be realized that an enormous amount of work
remains to be done before industrial diesel engine instal-
lations cease to be a continuing source of noise complaints
and difficulties.
It is generally recognized that any equipment with a
noise rating of 45 or over will give rise to organized pro-
tests, and when this is related to the value of 60dB at
125 Hz it is obvious that all the engines considered will
need extensive and expensive sound screening, if offences
against the 1960 Noise Abatement Act are to be avoided.
The authors state that the turbocharger noise is not
usually significant and yet by the same relationship a
noise rating of 45 at 10 000 Hz is equivalent to 35 dB,
whereas the level measured was over 90 dB.
A further point to be considered is the physical effect
on the hearing of the mechanics and fitters employed in
engine rooms. Subjecting any person to the levels of
110-1 15 dB shown in Fig. 6, in the immediate vicinity of
the engines, would almost certainly cause permanent
damage in the form of hearing loss over the low frequency
range and could be even more destructive.
It is to be hoped that the authors and everyone else
involved in the design of diesel engines will realize the
dangers involved in the present very noisy engines,
coupled with the difficulties in providing adequate sound
insulation, and will endeavour to reduce the noise genera-
tion to much lower levels than manufacturers seem to
consider as adequate.
Mr E. J. Nestorides (Slough, Bucks.)-The authors
have introduced some engineering mathematics into the
assessment of engine noise and are to be commended for
this. In other fields noise reports sometimes display
possibly an excess of mathematical treatment in comparison
with practical work, but this is not the case with diesel
engine noise and I therefore feel that some more mathe-
matical analysis is to be encouraged.
There is no basic division between medium-speed
engines and any other engines as regards noise, apart from
structural stiffness and the greater percentage of surface
area covered by accessories in high-speed engines.
References (22), (23) and (24) are recent publications on
engine noise.
The authors mention that they used Bruel and Kjaer
(B and K) equipment for their investigations. B and K and
Vo1183 Pt 1 No 6
146 DISCUSSION
other one-third-octave-analyser recorders show only the
average sound pressure level in each frequency band, during
the period when the motor-driven analyser selector switch
samples a particular frequency band. Noiseprints, that
is continuous recordings of instantaneous sound pressure
levels in all frequency bands from, say, 20 Hz to 12 kHz,
or even higher where necessary, with sound pressure level
represented by a degree of blackness in a mosaic type
pattern, in principle can provide greater discrimination
and at the B.I.C.E.R.I. laboratory we are looking into
their possibilities for engine noise source identification. I n
America, the New York Central Railroad have stated that
they have used such noiseprints successfully for engines
tested at speeds of 250 and 400 rev/min (25) (26).
In Fig. 1, the authors show a curve for engines of type (ii)
n i t h a peak at about 114 dB. This peak is based on two
test points only. Since the scatter at other positions along
this curve is about 5 dB, the peak of the curve may
possibly be above the two test points. So for high-
performance high-speed engines noise may well be an
even greater problem than that indicated by this diagram.
T h e measurements were taken at one position, 6 ft from
the ground. Depending on whether measurements arc
taken at rocker box level, cylinder block level, or crankcasc
level, different relations can be obtained between engine
noise, b.m.e.p. and running speed. At the B.I.C.E.R.I.
laboratory the BS/ISO method of average sound pressure
level values, based on measurements around and above
the engine (B.S.4196:1967, Appendix A) is used, for
semi-near-field measurements. Our experience is that the
results obtained with this method justify the additional
work involved.
Under (c) it is mentioned that the peak rate of pressure
rise is lower for low-speed large-bore engines. With in-
creasing values of b.m.e.p., this peak rate of pressure rise
is gradually increasing, even in very large marine engines.
It is possible to obtain reduced peak rates of pressure rise,
with good fuel economy, with fully adaptable injection
systems.
Equation ( 2 ) is based on the effects of a single cylinder.
For multicylinder engines, the sum of these effects is used
in equations ( 3 ) and (17). These latter equations consider
only vibratory energy induced by forces, and disregard
couples. Equations (3) and (17) could, I feel, therefore be
supplemented by equations related to the effects of couples,
which would bring in the overall length of the engine and
the distances between cylinder centres.
T h e section of the paper on crankcases and plates gives
an assessment of the attenuation of combustion-induced
noise by crankcase walls and panels. Another assessment
of this problem is given by Thien in the paper previously
mentioned, and it shows in particular decreasing spectra
of plate vibration harmonics similar to those previously
considered by Priede solely in relation to gas pressure
harmonics.
I n the last paragraph of this section the authors note
that the cylinder liners were restrained at their bottom
end, with a transfer of vibratory energy to the crankcase.
I’roc Instir ,2lech Engrs 1968-69
Some increase in noise might be expected from this. T h e
support of the liner may have been beneficial for other
reasons, such as cavitation prevention. Liner cantilever
bending vibrations are not considered in the paper by
Haasler, but they are relevant in several respects.
A noise path not mentioned by the authors is that of the
connecting rod, which performs impact-excited vibra-
tions (27) of considerable duration, and these are trans-
mitted to the main bearings and the engine frame. It
would be of interest to have thc views of the authors on
subject.
R 1 FER E N CES
SKORTSOV, E. A,, IZOTOV,A. €3. and Tvzov, L. V. ‘Methods
of reducing vibration and noise in diescl cngincs’.
Central Scientific and Research Institute.
HAASLER, J . ForschHfr. I h r . dr. I t w . 1968, 505.
THIEN, G. E. S.A.E. Paper 680 407, 1968.
WILLIAMS, G. D. Desigpt A’ercs October l l t h , 1967, 36.
MERCY, K. R. A.S.M.E. Paper 55-OGP-4.
FEARON, W. ‘The effect of oil cushioning in piston opera-
tion’, Fig. 8, 26. B.R.B. Symposium on Cavitation
Corrosion and its Prevention in Diesel Engines (1965)
Mr B. Taylor, B.Sc.(Eng.), C.Eng., M.1.Mech.E.-
Although the paper deals primarily with medium-speed
engines there are many points of interest to the designers
of large slow-speed marine engines.
We have not made a systematic study of noise from
large engines but some noise levels have been recorded
for a 700 m m (27.5 in) bore turbocharged opposed-piston
engine when running on the test bed. This showed a noise
level of 102 dB to 109 dB with a mean of about 104 dB.
This value lies slightly above the curve shown in Fig. 1 of
the paper but very close to the authors’ predicted noise
level curve plotted in Fig. 3 for crosshead engines with
cast-iron crankcases, although the Doxford engine has a
fabricated steel crankcase. Records were also taken with
the engine running at 25 per cent full load at which power
the noise level was reduced by about 10 dB.
When one stands on the lower platform, at crankshaft
level, on an engine of this type, the noise is obviously
much less than at the middle platform which is adjacent
to the combustion zones of the cylinders, yet there was
little difference in the noise level readings at the two
positions. This can probably be accounted for by the
likelihood of lower frequencies, to which of course the ear
is less sensitive, predominating at crankcase level. I t is
not clear from the paper whether this factor has been taken
into account. It would be interesting to know whether
I S 0 Noise Rating values have been obtained by octave
band analysis for engines of different sizes. This may show
that the difference in noise from medium-speed and slow-
speed engines is greater than indicated in Fig. 1 since
noise at different frequencies may have the same sound
pressure level reading but different noise ratings.
Referring now to the section of the paper dealing with
sources of noise, I agree that on large engines combustion
noise predominates but noise from the exhaust system and
the turbocharger is significant in slow-speed engines. I
Vol I83 Pt I No 6
 hiEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE 147

4t

.. ..-

CRITICAL FREQUENCY RATIO,&

Fig. I I . Variation of radiation efienqy with fiequenq

was surprised to hear that piston slap is the main source

of mechanical noise in trunk piston engines, as I would
have expected the noise from the fuel pump drive of cam-
driven jerk pumps to be a significant factor. Another
source of noise on geared marine propulsion machinery lo-‘
28
using medium-speed engines is the reduction gears and I
should be interested to know whether the authors have
made any investigation of this.
I was very interested in the authors’ work on the effect
of transferring vibrational energy from the cylinders
towards the crankcase. The reason for this is that the
modern trend in ships’ engine rooms is to mount the
controls at the middle platform level which is at the same
level as the main source of noise, i.e. the cylinder com-
bustion belts. Although noise from the main engine is not
a serious problem with slow-running engines it may be
possible by channelling some of the vibrational energy
towards the less frequented part of the engine to effect a
reduction in overall noise level.

Dr L. Yeh, C.Eng., M.1.Mech.E.-The authors are to

be commended on their achievement in predicting the
overall noise level of the diesel engine, which appeared to
be in good agreement with experimental results. However,
I would like to make a few suggestions:
(1) On the theoretical consideration, both in equations
(1) and (6) of the paper, the acoustic power radiated by
impact and combustion noise, both damping and reso-
nance effect, was neglected, which in my view contributes
quite a lot on the noise generated by engines. FREQUENCY-HZ
(2) ‘Statistical methods in vibration analysis’ should be
used, as developed by P. N. Smith, R. H. Lyon and G . Fig. 12. One-third octave band measurement of mechanical
Maidanik and described by the authors in their paper. QOWW dissipation factor

Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69 Vol183 Pt 1 No 6

148 DISCUSSION

FREQUENCY-HZ
Hp developed = 55.
Speed = 1500 revlmin.
B.m.e.p. = 90 lb/in2.
Peak pressure = 1000 lb/in2.
Fig. 13. Spectrum analysis of a pressure transducer on an experimental engine at full load
Acoustically induced stresses in nuclear structures at high octave band measurements of mechanical power dissipa-
intensities, may be used for panel-like structures : tion factor. Method of measurements of 7,ech is described
in the paper and T,.ad for flat plate can be calculated if the
critical frequency is known. For cast iron 9 in thick, this
is 650 Hz and 1 in thick 325 Hz.
where S, = Velocity spectral density. (4) Using the vibratory impact power your equation (17)
S, = Pressure spectral density.
(v2>A,t= Mean square out-of-plane velocity averaged w M p 2 voz
w,= -
with respect to space and time. 27rs
(p2)>,,,= Mean square sound pressure averaged with
respect to space and time.
where M p is the mass of pistons cause impact and M is
n, = Model density of structure total mass of impacted body and T , is the
~ efficiency
~ ~ ~ ~
-
--dTA modes per rad/s for flat panels. of transmission of vibratory force through joints between
27rCLh impact receiving surface and radiating surface. For solid
C, = Velocity of sound in air. structure T~~~~~~= 1. The radiating surface may be
assumed as a flat plate.
Po = Density of air. (5) From equations (23) and (24) rearranging the mean
M = Mass of the structure or panel. square noise pressure
w = Centre frequency of the band of noise.
?pad = Radiation loss factor.

T~
, = Mechanical loss factor. (6) Using this equation in conjunction with your
For panels velocity spectrum equation
v , M P [ I (w2)2]
where a = radiation efficiency. Zi
(3) Both q,.pd and 71,,,,, are variables as against The noise spectrum in each band may be calculated.
frequency. Fig. 11 shows the radiation efficiency 'a' as a The overall pressure may also be calculated by P&e,.a,,
function of critical frequency. Fig. 12 shows one-third- = C (Pi2)*

Proc Instn Mech Engrs 1968-69 1700( 183 Pr I KO 6

 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE
(7) For combustion noise the spectrum density of the
combustion has to be obtained from Fig. 13. Then the
vibration of the structure surface in contact with the com-
bustion may be obtained using equation (23). Special
attention should be paid to the ring frequency of the
cylinder liner. Similar to equation (25) the vibration of
AuthorQS’ Reply
M r R. Bertodo and M r J. H. Worsfold-The authors
wish to thank the contributors for the stimulating dis-
cussion and constructive criticism received. Inevitably,
perhaps, they cannot agree with all the points made. In
particular, for a given bore size, increased b.m.e.p. is
achieved by injecting a greater quantity of fuel over an
essentially constant crank angle. This tends to give higher
rates of pressure rise and higher peak pressures; Dr
Priede’s contention that noise is not affected by b.m.e.p.
is not tenable. In fact he has himself shown (6) that rate
of pressure rise is a controlling factor of combustion noise,
and this is also borne out by Nestorides (2), and Mr
Taylor’s contribution.
In the authors’ opinion the discrepancies between the
calculated and measured spectra are too large and the
agreement obtained in overall noise levels (expressed as
flat levels throughout the paper) may owe more to the
insensitivity of overall levels to spectral variations than to
anything else. The prediction of a 10dB reduction at
100 Hz for engine E was in fact the difference between a
large plate, with and without damping, having the largest
dimensions used in the idealization. This was not in-
tended to be representative of the contributions from the
whole engine rocking bodily on its mounts : this condition
occurs in the range 2-4 Hz, depending upon the number
of cylinders and type of mounting, and is thus below the
frequency range considered in the theoretical spectrum.
The contents of the paper have been heavily condensed
in parts due to length restrictions, and the inclusion of a
worked example is not yet considered appropriate. Work
on the analysis of crankcase attenuation is continuing and,
if present progress is maintained, it is hoped to give fuller
details at a later date in a specialized publication. The
analytical approach is currently based on an estimate of the
overall noise by subtracting the summation of equations
(7) and (1) from the overall crankcase attenuation. The
corresponding frequency spectra were obtained from a
consideration of equation (4) for mechanical noise and
from a Fourier analysis of an idealized pressure diagram
for combustion noise. The idealized diagram was formed
by joining with straight lines the points corresponding to
the start of compression, ignition, peak pressure and blow-
down. The crankcase attenuation was deduced by super-
imposing the attenuation characteristics of a series of flat
plates chosen to approximate in size and edge conditions
to the crankcase outer walls. This technique is not original
and was h t proposed by Cremer (IO),Haasler (29) and,
Proc Instn Mmh Engrs 196869
149
cylinder liners may be transferred to the radiating surface
by introducing efficiency of transmission through joints.
The of the radiating surface of the structure may
be used to calculate the sound level in each band. Un-
fortunately I have not got the necessary information to
enable me to check the calculation.
more recently, Thien (24). The vibrational energy attenua-
tion from the combustion space to the outer surfaces was
estimated on the basis of the geometry of the interven-
ing structure, assuming perfect mechanical impedance
matching. This assumption was based on findings by
Cremer (30).
I n the particular case of engine E vibrational energy was
channelled away from the cylinder block and towards the
crankcase proper by restraining the bottom of the liner.
As a result the crankcase noise increased and the levels
at cylinder block height were reduced, as shown in Fig. 14,
and as suggested by Mr Nestorides.
The theoretical curves shown in Fig. 3 were obtained
using data from Volume 30 of Diesel and gas engine
catalog (1965) and are, therefore, representative of noise
levels for production engines then being offered for
sale. The choice of datum was dictated by the need to
obtain curves for engines of similar vintage to those of
the survey and ties in with levels reported by B.I.C.E.R.I.
(29). Recent developments, however, have led to the
progressive introduction of small engines of higher rating,
lower specific weight and higher rotational speeds; the
reflection of this on more recently published noise levels
(5) is also shown in Fig. 15. This has also occurred in the
medium-speed engine range and, as pointed out by Mr
Nestorides, in low-speed engines as well but to a lesser
degree.
Mr Nestorides’ comment that there was no basic
difference between various sizes of engines was interest-
ing, because his laboratory published data which agreed
very closely with suggested trends (Fig. 8). His criticism
of the method of measurement is valid, but the variations
with microphone location that he suggested have not been
evident in the present investigations provided turbo-
charger and exhaust noise was not predominant. There is
no reason for such noise sources to predominate in a
correctly designed installation.
The impact velocities of the piston assembly have been
estimated on engine E using an extension of equation (10)
as a preliminary step to determining the likelihood of
cavitation erosion occurring in practice; the results have
been checked experimentally. I n this case at least, the
influence of couples, bearing clearance and gudgeon pin
and piston ring friction had proved negligible.
The authors cannot accept that low powerlweight ratio
is necessary for trouble-free running as suggested by Dr
Butters, and their company has found no need to
Vol183 Pt I No 6
150 AUTHORS' REPLY

1 I I l l 1
- No restraint
----- With restraint

;...--\
\-
L

'i
I
3

10 .-
FREQUENCY -Hi
Fig. 14. Reduction of noise levels at 3 f t around cylinder heads on engine E caused by
addition of bottom restraint to liner

introduce different recommended maintenance schedules particularly on the conclusion that since the overall noise
for high and low power/weight ratio engines. Extensive level is determined by the predominant component in the
vibration tests have been carried out on the basic crank- spectrum and in view of the poor approximation to the
case frame using faithful scale models as described by relevant frequency spectrum the correlation is, in some
Morland and Flear (I), but it is thought that holography cases, fortuitous. Much more work is necessary before the
could well be used to determine the modal shapes of these investigation can be judged successfully concluded, as
models, instead of the present conventional techniques. stated in the text.
The authors are in complete agreement with Mr LePage, There is no question that the mathematical approach
is a simplification of the true engine conditions as sug-
1101 1 1 1 gested by Dr Hempel and Mr Seidl. Hopefully this is less
of an approximation than that of empirical formulae. It
%u was never the intention of the authors to produce a
simple equation, but to offer a better understanding of the
governing mechanism. The influence of pressure rise,
however, has been taken into account and this appears as
a rate of change of side thrust, dT(O)/dO, in equation (3)
L
., X and as a crestfactor in equation (7).The greatest weakness
m of empirical formulae lies in the fact that they can only
I 95
.-1
describe the engine sample chosen and, as discussed
w earlier, engine noise is continually changing as specific
)Y
-1 powers, specific weight and rotational speeds increase.
w
a This probably accounts for the fact that five formulae
2 90 have been put forward during the discussion, namely those
of Zinchenko, Cordier and Reyl, Slawin, Lubcke and
Abrahamsen. T o these can be added the more recent ones
derived by Deutz and C.I.M.A.C. Mr Jeffs has apparently
0
v) obtained discrepancies of up to 18 dB when attempting to
x Pritde.nf.5 predict the noise of a particular engine by means of
Bicera,ref. 13
I empirical formulae.
The authors are intrigued by the prominence given by
Dr Hempel and his colleague to turbocharger noise on two
counts, Firstly, it appears unreasonable to judge the noise
of a diesel engine by that of its turbocharger and, secondly,
Vol183 Pt I No 6
 MEDIUM SPEED DIESEL ENGINE NOISE^
10 102
FREQUENCY
F&. 16. Noise levels of engine C showing reduction of turbocharger contribution
this can be reduced quite easily by the adoption of cor-
rectly designed intake and outlet silencers and fairly
rudimentary lagging of the external surfaces of the volute
and intercooler casing. Fig. 9 shows the attenuation achieved
by lagging and improved inlet silencing on a medium-
speed engine of the type C, and it is particularly noticeable
that except close to the turbocharger, the noise from the
turbocharger has been reduced to the noise rating number
of the engine.
Dr Yeh’s and Mr Crutcher’s comments on damping and
resonance are undoubtedly valid. The assumptions made
in equation (10) were, in our opinion, the most reasonable
that could be made in the absence of better information.
I n the light of statistical energy methods for vibration
analysis evolved by Maidanik (31) (32), the assumptions
implied that the impacted and radiating structural com-
ponents were well coupled and possessed the same modal
densities. Cremer (30) suggests that this may not be far
from the truth; we are none the less grateful for Dr Yeh’s
suggestions which we propose to pursue further.
The choice of bore size as a basis of comparison is not
entirely satisfactory, but there are equally valid reasons for
objecting to Mr Crutcher’s proposals, particularly since
the amount of evidence available is not really adequate
for such an ambitious plot. His views on near and far
field measurements are really academic since, to our
knowledge, very few engine installations would permit
measurements at 45ft. This has been recognized by all
national and international standardization bodies (18) (33);
the most commonly prescribed measuring distance being
about 3 ft from the radiating surface. I n our experience
this is just adequate to avoid spurious variations due to
localized resonances. Our suggestion that engine-to-
engine variation is essentially a function of second order
Proc Inrtn Mech Engrs 196869
151
I o3 10‘
- HZ
variations in speed, load, air charge pressure, production
tolerances, etc., is supported by quite positive evidence.
The noise levels quoted in Fig. 6 are overall linear
levels. It is our contention that the noise power radiated
by the engine does not vary significantly around it
although its annoyance rating may. I n so far as the designer
is concerned the most important and fundamental aspect
is reduction of noise at source, i.e. reduction of noise
power. Alteration of the spectrum can be no more than a
palliative and will not lead to a major breakthrough in
engine silencing. Our views would appear substantiated
by Mr Taylor’s experience. Some indication of the
annoyance value of the engine spectra is given in Table 6.
We would like to apologize to Dr Austen for an over-
sight in the condensation of the paper prior to publica-
tion. Equation (7)is, of course, directly comparable with
equation (3) for mechanical noise, i.e. it defines the total
noise power and does not specify the spectrum. An
equation comparable with equation (4) for the mechanical
noise is derived from a consideration of the idealized
pressure diagram as described earlier and this does
in fact follow the shape suggested by Dr Austen.
Equation (7) is expressed in power terms and as such it
must be dependent on the first power of speed by Dr
Austen’s own definition, the underestimate occurring only
if contributions from individual frequencies are con-
sidered.
The authors are not convinced that the way to determine
the contribution of various parts is to motor the engine as
most parts are not then carrying their full designed load,
The information supplied by Mr Jeffs is interesting and
with regard to noise increases or decreases after a con-
siderable engine life, one might reasonably expect the
mechanical noise to increase as clearances etc. become
Vol I83 Pt I No 6
152 AUTHORS’ REPLY
larger. Thus on an engine in which mechanical noise
predominates one could well expect this phenomenon.
This has been observed on the prototype of the range of
engines E, when immediately after a comprehensive
overhaul after long running levels dropped by as much as
10 dB in individual bands. It has not been noted on other
engines where combustion noise is the controlling factor.
The engines in Table 1 were all examined in the
authors’ company’s test shops under as nearly as possible
identical conditions. Measurements for engines of the
rest of the survey were made under all conditions and
corrections applied for reverberation time and so on.
In reply to Mr Lovatt-Smith, it is pointed out that the
noise rating NR 45 quoted is the level from any plant
measured outside the nearest dwelling. Usually there is a
considerable distance involved and an enclosing wall
around the machinery serves to produce further attenua-
tion. The predominant source left is then exhaust noise
which can be dealt with by silencers of the correctly
designed attenuation.
Turbocharger noise is normally insignificant when com-
pared with the remainder of the noise spectrum and in
cases where it predominates can be made so. I t has been
pointed out that no engine has a noise rating of less than
Proc Inrtn Mech Engrs 196849
NR 85, the level usually regarded as the limit for unde-
fended personnel. Obviously, some protection is needed
and it has been noted in our experience that most manu-
facturers and customers supply those who work near the
engines with some form of ear-defender.
Noise prints have been used for a long time in America
as Mr Nestorides states, although at present the signifi-
cance of the results does not seem fully appreciated. It
does seem, however, that in the future the nature of
noise measurement could well be revolutionized by these
prints.
REFERENCES
B.I.C.E.R.I. Laboratory Report No. 8, 1950.
HAASLER, J. ForschHft. Ver. dt. Ing. 1964 30,505.
CREW, L. ‘Calculation of sound propagation in struc-
tures’, Acoustica 1953 3 (No. 5).
LYON,R. H. and MAIDANIK, G . ‘Statistical methods in
vibration analysis’, 3. Inst. aeronaut. ustronaut. 1964 2,
1015.
WIDANIK, G. ‘Response of ribbed panels to reverberant
acoustic fields’, 3. acousr. SOC.Am. 1962 34, 809.
German Standard DIN 45635-Feb. 1968 Geraicschmessung
an Maschinen (Luftschallmessung).
‘Guide to the selection of methods of measuring noise emitted
by machinery’, 1967 B.S. 4199.
Vol183 ft I No 6