Noise Reduction from Energy Facilities by Using Energy-efficient Dissipative Silencers in the Turns of Gas-air Paths

New-generation dissipative silencers with variable cross-section plates are a promising technology for noise reduction at energy facilities. The article substantiates the need for applying modern energy-efficient noise silencers, with due regard to their influence on the operation of the energy facility main and auxiliary equipment. The aim of the study is to determine and analyze the aerodynamic, acoustic, mass, and dimensional characteristics of silencers equipped with plates of variable cross-section in the form of arcs in a turn. Their aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics were obtained using mathematical modeling in the SolidWorks Flow Simulation and Ansys ACT Acoustics software packages. The simulation and calculations results have shown that the use of the proposed silencer design makes it possible to reduce the pressure drop in the channels by optimizing the flow motion pattern in the turn. The greatest reduction in the pressure drop reaches 65% for channels of a large cross-section. The silencer acoustic efficiency increases with increasing the channel dimensions due to an increase in the plate silencer equivalent length. The mass characteristics of silencers in a turn are analyzed and compared with the silencers in a straight section. Cases are shown in which silencers in a turn have a smaller mass in comparison with the commonly used ones. Based on the results obtained, the use of variable cross-section silencers in a turn can be recommended to reduce noise propagating in the gas–air paths of medium- and high-capacity boiler units.