Analysis of vortex structures evolution and aeroacoustic characteristics in the ultra-high-speed elevator ring-gap flow field

The continuous improvement of elevator speed has made the issue of aerodynamic noise in the hoistway more prominent. Previous research has usually focused on the characteristics of aerodynamic loads and related safety issues, and little attention has been paid to the problem of flow-induced noise. This paper established a three-dimensional geometric configuration of the ultra-high-speed elevator to study the flow behavior and aerodynamic acoustic characteristics in the hoistway using well-validated large eddy simulations. Firstly, we analyzed the unsteady flow behavior in the ring-gap flow field using large eddy simulations and captured the transient vortex structure in the flow field using the Q-criterion. We then predicted the far-field aerodynamic noise of the elevator car using the Lighthill-Curle aerodynamic acoustic equations. The results showed that the factors affecting the sound source intensity of the elevator car include the shedding position and intensity of the vortex structures. By adjusting the shedding position and reducing the intensity of the vortex structure, the sound source intensity of the elevator car wall could be effectively controlled. The change of the blocking ratio could not affect the attenuation of aerodynamic noise in the hoistway, but the increase of the blocking ratio could lead to an increase in the turbulent kinetic energy intensity and peak SPL in the hoistway. Therefore, the blocking ratio should be kept within 0.65 when designing the hoistway structure dimensions.