Aircraft noise

About: Aircraft noise is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3051 publications have been published within this topic receiving 32039 citations.

Challenges and opportunities for low noise electric aircraft

Abstract: A new class of electric aircraft is being developed to transport people and goods as a part of the urban and regional transportation infrastructure. To gain public acceptance of these operations, these aircraft need to be much quieter than conventional airplanes and helicopters. This article seeks to review and summarize the aeroacoustic research relevant to this new category of aircraft. First, a brief review of the history of electric aircraft is provided, with an emphasis on how these aircraft differ from conventional aircraft. Next, the physics of rotor noise generation are reviewed, and the noise sources most likely to be of concern for electric aircraft are highlighted. These are divided into deterministic and nondeterministic sources of noise. Deterministic noise is expected to be dominated by the unsteady loading noise caused by the aerodynamic interactions between components. Nondeterministic noise will be generated by the interaction of the rotor or propeller blades with turbulence from ingested wakes, the atmosphere, and self-generated in the boundary layer. The literature for these noise sources is reviewed with a focus on applicability to electric aircraft. Challenges faced by the aeroacoustician in understanding the noise generation of electric aircraft are then identified, as well as the new opportunities for the prediction and reduction of electric aircraft noise that may be enabled by advances in computational aeroacoustics, flight simulation, and autonomy.

A Comparative Study of Tail Rotor Noise Mechanisms

Abstract: A study was made of helicopter tail rotor noise, particularly that due to interactions with the wakes of the main rotor, hub, and fuselage, and with the engine exhaust. Both harmonic and broadband noise were analyzed. The disturbed flow into the tail rotor was modeled using combinations of aerodynamic and acoustic flow codes along with some necessary estimates of turbulence properties. Representative calculations show that the main rotor wake is the strongest contributor to both harmonic and broadband tail rotor noise. The fuselage separation wake and the engine exhaust flow are also very important to both harmonic and broadband noise. The hub and hub-shaft wakes are important contributors to the broadband noise only. The tip vortices do not seem to be important to broadband noise, but their effects on harmonic noise were not modeled accurately enough to draw any conclusions from this study.

Ambient light sensitive activator

Abstract: An activation signal is generated when an aircraft passes directly overhead and may be employed to record aircraft noise levels or to trigger a zenith camera for producing a photograph of the aircraft useful in determining aircraft position. When used in connection with a second instrument located at a fixed distance from the first and along the path of the aircraft, aircraft ground speed may be determined. Ambient light, normally passing through an optically defined airspace and thence incident upon light sensors, is partially blocked when an object such as an aircraft is present. A signal proportional to the change in ambient light incident upon the sensors and a function of the size and shape of the aircraft is used to sense the passage of a wing section. Upon detection of the wing section an activation signal is generated.

Numerical assessment of the vibration control effects of porous liners on an over-the-wing propeller configuration

Abstract: An over-the-wing position of propellers comes with noise shielding and significantly reduced sound emission to the ground. A drawback of this configuration may be the additional impact due to the passing propeller blades on the airfoil’s surface inducing structure-borne sound in the wing. This structural sound propagates within the wing and the fuselage and can radiate further into the cabin as airborne sound. In order not to trade the advantage of reduced noise transmission to the ground with higher sound pressure levels within the cabin, a remedy is proposed, which consists in placing a poroelastic liner on the wing’s surface below the rotor where the blade tips move closely to the airfoil’s skin. In this work, a numerical approach to assess the effects of porous liners for an over-the-wing propeller configuration is presented. A simplified generic channelwing structure is exposed to pressure fluctuations on its surface which are caused by an over-the-wing propeller. Porous liners are applied to the wing’s surface where the blade tips pass in close proximity. Structural vibrations are determined using the finite element method in frequency domain. Surface data is obtained from CFD computations. The porous material is represented by Biot’s theory.

Characteristics of the advanced supersonic technology AST-105-1 configured for transpacific range with Pratt and Whitney aircraft variable stream control engines

Abstract: Credence to systems weights and assurance that the noise study AST concept can be balanced were studied. Current titanium structural technology is assumed. A duct-burning turbofan variable stream control engine (VSCE), with noise reduction potential through use of a coannular nozzle was used. With 273 passengers, range of the AST-105-1 for a cruise Mach number of 2.62 is essentially transpacific. Lift-to-drag ratio is slightly higher than for previous AST configurations. It is trimmable over a center-of-gravity range of 4.7m (15.5 ft). Inherent high positive effective dihedral, typical of arrow-wing configurations in high-lift approach, would limit AST-105-1 to operating in crosswinds of 11.6 m/sec (22.4 kt), or less, with 75 percent of available lateral control. Normal power takeoff with cutback results in noise in excess of Federal Aviation Regulation Part 36 but less than for conventional procedure takeoff. Results of advanced (noncertificated) programmed throttle takeoff and approach procedures, not yet optimized, indicate that such can be an important additional method noise reduction.