Acoustic Resonance in Heat Exchanger Tube Bundles—Part I: Physical Nature of the Phenomenon

The intense acoustic resonance resulting from gas flow across a bank of heat exchanger tubes in a duct has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. At low gas velocities, the acoustic tone emanating from tube bundles increases in proportion to the flow velocity. When the frequency approaches a bound acoustic transverse mode of the tube bundle, intense sound can result. Sound levels as high as 173 db were measured within the bundle. During resonance, the sound correlates vortex shedding from the tubes and the pressure drop increases in some bundles.