The acoustic radiation from a turbulent boundary layer that occurs downstream of a rearward facing step discontinuity and reattaches to a flat plat is considred experimentally. The step is exposed ot a zero incidence, uniform subsonic flow. a quiet wall jet facility situated in an anechoic chamber is used for the studies. The “point” wall pressure spectra are measured by small, “pinhole” microphones located at various locations under the layer, including a point directly in the 90° corner of the step. The wall pressure fluctuations measured at the various locations are correlated with the signal detected by a far-field microphone. The measured cross-spectral densities are thus used to identify the relative contributions of the various flow regimes to the direct radiation. It is shown that the separation of the flow over the corner of the step is a dominant acoustic source, which is supported not only by the measured cross spectra, but also by the favorable comparison of the measured velocity power law to the theoretical value. Measurements made where the flow reattaches and at the turbulent boundary layer are less conclusive. This is because the pinhole tube attached to the microphone produced a sound due to a fluid-dynamic oscillation, which contaminated the measurement of the aeroacoustic sources.
