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This paper presents an experimental investigation of tip vortex formation noise produced by wall-mounted finite airfoils. Acoustic measurements were taken in the open jet anechoic wind tunn...

The application of a porous coating to a smooth cylinder placed in uniform flow can reduce its vortex shedding tone and overall sound pressure level. The responsible noise generation mechanisms are not fully understood nor has an optimal porous coating type been presented. Structured Porous Coated Cylinders (SPCCs) have been recently investigated as an alternative to randomized porous coated cylinders that use metal foam or polyurethane. SPCCs possess similar noise reduction characteristics to randomized porous coated cylinders, yet their porosity can be modified in circumferential and spanwise directions. An acoustic investigation was conducted in a small anechoic wind tunnel using SPCCs constructed in four spanwise segments, yielding varying spanwise and circumferential porosities. Acoustic signals were recorded using two microphone arc arrays symmetric about the flow axis. Each SPCC revealed a reduced vortex shedding tone, a primary harmonic, and a high frequency broadband contribution. For each SPCC, the vortex shedding tones were weaker than the equivalent bare cylinder shedding tone and presented decreased overall sound pressure level. Variations in circumferential and spanwise porosity were shown to have little effect on tonal noise reduction yet influence high frequency contributions.

This paper is concerned with the flow characteristics and noise generation at the finite wing–wall junction. To characterize junction flow noise, acoustic measurements were taken in the aco...

Abstract One known method to reduce vortex shedding from the tip of a blade is the use of end plates or winglets. Although the aerodynamic impact of such end plates has been investigated in the past, no studies exist on the effect of such end plates on the far-field noise. The aeroacoustic noise reduction of three different end-plate geometries is experimentally investigated. The end plates are applied to the free end of a wall-mounted symmetric NACA 0012 airfoil and a cambered NACA 4412 airfoil with an aspect ratio of 2 and natural boundary layer transition. Microphone array measurements are taken in the aeroacoustic open-jet wind tunnel at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg for chord-based Reynolds numbers between 75,000 and 225,000 and angles of attack from 0$$^\circ$$ ∘ to 30$$^\circ$$ ∘ . The obtained acoustic spectra show a broad frequency hump for the airfoil base configurations at higher angles of attack that is attributed to tip noise. Hot-wire measurements taken for one configuration show that the application of an end plate diffuses the vorticity at the tip. The aeroacoustic noise contribution of the tip can be reduced when the endplates are applied. This reduction is most effective for higher angles of attack, when the tip vortex is the dominant sound source. Graphic abstract

Aerofoil noise reduction is a topic of great interest at the present time and as such many strategies have been presented, in previous literatures whether they are trailing edge serrations, leading edge undulations or porous aerofoils, to name a few. The present study investigates a bio-inspired solution where an array of passive flexible elements, known as flaplets, are extended over the trailing edge of the aerofoil and are allowed to oscillate freely in the flow field. The aerofoil in used in the present study is a NACA 0012 and has been analysed by using both time resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV), in a close circuit wind tunnel, and aeroacoustic measurements in an open jet wind tunnel at moderate chord based Reynolds numbers; ranging from 50,000 to 350,000. The results show a clear reduction in tonal noise with a clear region of maximum noise reduction scaled with \(u_\infty ^\text {1.5}\).

This paper presents an acoustic study of a standard NACA 0012 aerofoil with additional self-oscillating passive flaplets deployed from the trailing edge for self-noise reduction, putting special emphasis on the potential reduction of tonal noise generated by the periodic shedding of vortices from the trailing edge. The flaplets protruding out of the trailing edge act as rectangular thin cantilever beams exited by the surrounding flow to oscillate in their dominant flexural bending mode. The noise attenuation performance is studied for different deployment length, width and inter-spacing to find the most dominant contributions at chord based Reynolds numbers Re c from 100,000 to 900,000 and three geometric angles of attack α g = 0 ° , 10 ° and 15 ° . It was observed that all flaplet configurations oscillate and thereby reduce the tonal noise. The range of the highest noise reduction in the low frequency range scales with the Strouhal number based on chord length, whereby this range can be set specifically by how far the flaplets protrude out of the trailing edge. This determines the free vibrating length and therefore the natural frequency of the oscillators. Laser-based measurements of the flaplet oscillations confirm the occurrence of a lock-in mechanism observed in previous studies, which effectively describes the oscillating flaplets as pacemaker to keep the fundamental instabilities of the flow in their linear state. It is concluded that this contributes mainly to the tonal noise reduction while the more broadband noise reduction stems from the geometry of the flaplets acting as ‘slitted-serrations’. A larger width of the flaplets is most effective in the low-frequency range, while narrower flaplets are best addressing high-frequency noise components. The results further show that a smaller inter-spacing also benefits the noise reduction. The study paves the way for novel morphing techniques to target specific noise ranges during different flight manoeuvres.

An aeroacoustic investigating looking into the effect of changing the inter-spacing of passive self-oscillating trailing edge flaplets has been carried out using a NACA 0012 aerofoil. Clear differences can be observed between each of the different cases. Where a reduction in low frequency noise, an increase in high frequency noise and a reduction in turbulence intensity in the wake can be seen for each case. As the inter-spacing is reduced, the differences become more prominent, when compared to the reference aerofoil.

Airfoil tip vortex formation noise is a significant noise source in many aerodynamic applications such as aircraft, fans, rotors and propellers. The data collection presented in this paper examines the effects of sinusoidal geometry and porosity on the tip vortex formation noise produced by finite length airfoils. The use of serrated and porous materials is inspired by silent owl-wings and is a promising approach to control flow-induced noise. Noise measurements have been taken using a 47-channel planar microphone array in the anechoic wind tunnel at the Brandenburg University of Technology. Over 2600 unique test cases with variations in sinusoidal tip geometry (amplitude and wavelength) and flat tip porosity were measured during the experimental campaign for a NACA0012 and NACA614 airfoil. The microphone data have been processed using acoustic beamforming software named Acoular to produce one-third-octave band tip noise spectra.

The interaction of a turbulent flow with the leading edge of a blade is a main noise source mechanism for fans and wind turbines. Motivated by the silent flight of owls, the present paper describes an experimental study performed to explore the noise-reducing effect of comb-like extensions, which are fixed to the leading edge of a low-speed airfoil. The measurements took place in an aeroacoustic wind tunnel using the microphone array technique, while the aerodynamic performance of the modified airfoils was captured simultaneously. It was found that the comb structures lead to a noise reduction at low frequencies, while the noise at high frequencies slightly increases. The most likely reasons for this frequency shift are that the teeth of the combs break up large incoming turbulent eddies into smaller ones or that they shift turbulent eddies away from the airfoil surface, thereby reducing pressure fluctuations acting on the airfoil. The aerodynamic performance does not change significantly.

The feathers of owls possess three adaptations that are held responsible for their quiet flight. These are a comb-like structure at the leading edge of the wing, fringes at the trailing edge, and a soft and porous upper surface of the wing. To investigate the effect of the first adaptation, the leading edge comb, on the aerodynamic performance and the noise generation during gliding flight, wind tunnel measurements were performed on prepared wings of a Barn owl ( Tyto alba) with and without the comb. In agreement with existing studies it was found that the leading edge comb causes a small increase in lift. Additionally, at high angles of attack the results from the acoustic measurements indicate that the presence of the comb leads to a reduction in gliding flight noise. Although this reduction is relatively small, it further helps the owl to approach its prey during the final stages of the landing phase.

The application of open-porous materials is a possible method to effectively reduce the aerodynamic noise of an airfoil. However, the porous consistency may have a negative effect on the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil, since very often the lift is decreased while the drag increases. In a recent investigation, the generation of trailing edge noise of a set of airfoil models made from different porous materials was examined experimentally. The materials were characterized mainly by their airflow resistivity. Besides the material, the chordwise extent of the porous material was varied, which was done by covering the front part of the porous airfoil with a thin, impermeable adhesive foil. Acoustic measurements were performed in an open jet wind tunnel using microphone array technology, while the aerodynamic performance was measured simultaneously using a six-component balance. In general, both the airflow resistivity and the extent of the porous material have an influence on the trailing edge noise. However, if a suitable material is chosen, the results show that a noticeable reduction of trailing edge noise is possible even with only a small chordwise extent of the porous material.

Phased microphone arrays have become a well-established tool for performing aeroacoustic measurements in wind tunnels (both open-jet and closed-section), flying aircraft, and engine test beds. This paper provides a review of the most well-known and state-of-the-art acoustic imaging methods and recommendations on when to use them. Several exemplary results showing the performance of most methods in aeroacoustic applications are included. This manuscript provides a general introduction to aeroacoustic measurements for non-experienced microphone-array users as well as a broad overview for general aeroacoustic experts.

This paper investigates the effect of the geometric parameters -- rod diameter and the distance between the rod and the airfoil -- on the noise generated by rod-airfoil configuration using experimental and numerical techniques. The numerical simulations are carried out using the low-dissipation up-wind scheme and the Delayed-Detached-Eddy Simulation (DDES) approach with Shear-Layer Adapted (SLA) sub-grid length scale (SGS) for a faster transition between RANS and LES. A dual-time stepping strategy, leading to second-order accuracy in space and time, is followed. The Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings (FWH) technique is used to post-process the pressure fluctuations to predict the far~field acoustics. A corresponding detailed experimental analysis, carried out using phased microphone array techniques in the aeroacoustic wind tunnel at the Brandenburg Technical University at Cottbus, is used for the validation of the numerical method. The key objective of the analysis is to examine the influence of the parameters of the configuration on the noise generation. The results show reasonable agreement with the experimental data in terms of far-field acoustics., Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, it is a draft manuscript

This study describes the modification of acoustic noise emitted from cylinders in a stationary subsonic flow for a cylinder equipped with flexible hairy flaps at the aft part as a passive way to manipulate the flow and acoustics. The study was motivated by the results from previous water tunnel measurements, which demonstrated that hairy flaps can modify the shedding cycle behind the cylinder and can reduce the wake deficit. In the present study, wind tunnel experiments were conducted on such a modified cylinder and the results were compared to the reference case of a plain cylinder. The acoustic spectrum was measured using two microphones while simultaneously recording the flap motion. To further examine the flow structures in the downstream vicinity of the cylinder, constant temperature anemometry measurements as well as flow visualizations were also performed. The results show that, above a certain Reynolds number, the hairy flaps lead to a jump in the vortex shedding frequency. This phenomenon is similarly observed in the water flow experiments as a jump in the non-dimensional Strouhal number that is related to the change of the shedding cycle. This jump appears to be coupled to a resonant excitation of the flaps. The specific Reynolds number at which the jump occurs is higher in the present case, which is attributed to the lower added mass in air as compared with the one in water. The flow visualizations confirmed that such action of the flaps lead to a more slender elongated shape of the time-averaged separation bubble. In addition, the hairy flaps induce a noticeable reduction of the tonal noise as well as broadband noise as long as the flaps do not touch each other.

This paper is concerned with the influence of camber on the noise of a wall-mounted finite airfoil with natural boundary layer transition. Tonal noise measurements taken in an aeroacoustic wind tunnel are presented for airfoils with aspect ratio of 2, NACAxx12 profile and camber between 0 and 6% at 40% chord. The results show camber is an important parameter that determines the operating conditions for which acoustic tone generation occurs and the number and intensity of the tones produced. Airfoils with 0%–2% camber have an acoustic signature that is dominated by a high amplitude primary tone, whereas the spectra of airfoils with higher camber of 4%–6% feature a more pronounced side tone structure. Tonal noise production does not collapse with lift coefficient, demonstrating that the local flow conditions influence the noise source. Tonal noise production is explained in terms of changes to mean flow topology, namely the location of flow separation, which is linked to tonal noise generation. Scaling of airfoil tonal noise is found to vary with angle of attack and pressure gradient. Empirical scaling laws for the primary tone frequency dependence on velocity are also derived for the cambered airfoils.

Measurements of flow induced wall-mounted finite airfoil noise have been taken in an anechoic wind tunnel to examine the influence of camber on tonal noise production. The airfoils have an aspect ratio (ratio of airfoil span, L, to chord, C) of \(L/C = 2\) and measurements encompass variations in camber of 0–8%. The results include far-field acoustic spectra and sound maps taken with a microphone array that reveal geometry effects on noise production.

Traffic noise is the most important environmental noise source. Standardized methods do not identify the main noise source or center an area of the car to do a more specific analysis. Other measurement techniques locate the noise source but have the problem of how to position the transducers to measure the noise sources during a pass-by. The best technique seems to be near-field holography (NAH), but it is only adequate at low frequency. In this paper the application of Beamforming for pass-by measurements has been considered. This technique allows not only to locate the main noise sources during the pass-by of a car, but also their characterization in terms of source strength. In order to test the accuracy of Beamforming in this kind of measurements, some pass-by measurements have been carried out, comparing the results obtained with other in the literature using different measurement techniques. Once the main noise sources are identified, a detailed analysis has been performed over sectors containing these noise sources, obtaining their acoustical characteristics, such as their spectra, sound pressure level, their dependence on the gear, the speed or the Strouhal number.

The vortex generated at the tip of an airfoil such as an aircraft wing, wind turbine blade, submarine fin or propeller blade can dominate its wake and be a significant source of unwanted noise. The data collection presented in this paper consists of measurements of tip vortex formation noise produced by finite length airfoils with flat and rounded tips. These data were obtained using the specialist aeroacoustic test facilities at the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) in Cottbus, Germany and a 47-channel planar microphone array. Over 1200 unique test cases with variations in airfoil profile shape, tip geometry, angle of attack and Reynolds number were measured during the experimental campaign. The dataset contains one-third-octave band tip noise spectra that have been processed using Acoular, a Python module for acoustic beamforming.

Based on data sets from previous experimental studies, the tool of symbolic regression is applied to find empirical models that describe the noise generation at porous airfoils. Both the self noise from the interaction of a turbulent boundary layer with the trailing edge of an porous airfoil and the noise generated at the leading edge due to turbulent inflow are considered. Following a dimensional analysis, models are built for trailing edge noise and leading edge noise in terms of four and six dimensionless quantities, respectively. Models of different accuracy and complexity are proposed and discussed. For the trailing edge noise case, a general dependency of the sound power on the fifth power of the flow velocity was found and the frequency spectrum is controlled by the flow resistivity of the porous material. Leading edge noise power is proportional to the square of the turbulence intensity and shows a dependency on the fifth to sixth power of the flow velocity, while the spectrum is governed by the flow resistivity and the integral length scale of the incoming turbulence.

The present paper describes the use of microphone array technology and beamforming algorithms for the measurement and analysis of noise generated by the interaction of a turbulent flow with the leading edge of an airfoil. Experiments were performed using a setup in an aeroacoustic wind tunnel, where the turbulent inflow is provided by different grids. In order to exactly localize the aeroacoustic noise sources and, moreover, to separate airfoil leading edge noise from grid-generated noise, the selected deconvolution beamforming algorithm is extended to be used on a fully three-dimensional source region. The result of this extended beamforming are three-dimensional mappings of noise source locations. Besides acoustic measurements, the investigation of airfoil leading edge noise requires the measurement of parameters describing the incident turbulence, such as the intensity and a characteristic length scale or time scale. The method used for the determination of these parameters in the present study is explained in detail. To demonstrate the applicability of the extended beamforming algorithm and the experimental setup as a whole, the noise generated at the leading edge of airfoils made of porous materials was measured and compared to that generated at the leading edge of a common nonporous airfoil.

Owls are commonly known for their quiet flight, enabled by three adaptions of their wings and plumage: leading edge serrations, trailing edge fringes and a soft and elastic downy upper surface of the feathers. In order to gain a better understanding of the aeroacoustic effects of the third property that is equivalent to an increased permeability of the plumage to air, an experimental survey on a set of airfoils made of different porous materials was carried out. Several airfoils with the same shape and size but made of different porous materials characterized by their flow resistivities and one non-porous reference airfoil were subject to the flow in an aeroacoustic open jet wind tunnel. The flow speed has been varied between approximately 25 and 50 m/s. The geometric angle of attack ranged from −16° to 20° in 4°-steps. The results of the aeroacoustic measurements, made with a 56-microphone array positioned out of flow, and of the measurements of lift and drag are given and discussed.

The aeroacoustic wind tunnel at Brandenburg University of Technology at Cottbus is a newly commissioned research facility for the experimental study of sound generation from bodies immersed in a fluid flow. The paper discusses the design criteria for the open jet wind tunnel that provides a maximum wind speed of 72 m/s at continuous operation and may be operated with nozzles of different dimension between 35 cm diameter (circular nozzle) and 12 cm by 14.7 cm (rectangular nozzle). Experiments may be performed either in a reverberant or in an anechoic environment. Both the aerodynamic and the acoustic design of the wind tunnel components are discussed in detail. Background noise measurements in the completed facility revealed very low levels comparable to other wind tunnels. The results of aerodynamic wind tunnel calibration confirmed a uniform flow quality in the jet and a very low axial turbulence intensity which is less than 0.2% for the 35 cm nozzle and less than 0.1% for the other nozzles. A final benchmark is provided by results of successful trailing edge noise measurements on an SD7003 airfoil that are presented and compared to results from the literature.

The use of porous materials is one of several approaches to passively control or minimize the generation of flow noise. In order to investigate the possible reduction of noise from struts and other protruding parts (for example components of the landing gear or pantographs), acoustic measurements were taken in a small aeroacoustic wind tunnel on a set of circular cylinders with a soft porous cover. The aim of this study was to identify those materials that result in the best noise reduction, which refers to both tonal noise and broadband noise. The porous covers were characterized by their air flow resistivity, a parameter describing the permeability of an open-porous material. The results show that materials with low air flow resistivities lead to a noticeable flow noise reduction. Thereby, the main effect of the porous cylinder covers is that the spectral peak of the aeolian tone due to vortex shedding appears much narrower, but is not suppressed completely. Based on the measurement results, a basic model for the estimation of the total peak level of the aeolian tone was derived. In addition to the minimization of the vortex shedding noise, a reduction of broadband noise can be observed, especially at higher Reynolds numbers. The noise reduction increases with decreasing air flow resistivity of the porous covers, which means that materials that are highly permeable to air result in the best noise reduction.

wings are characterized in the study as technical airfoils in terms of their acoustic and aerodynamic performance. The experiments took place in an aeroacoustic open jet wind tunnel using microphone array measurement technique and deconvolution beamforming algorithms. Simultaneously to the acoustic measurements, the lift and drag forces of the wings were captured using a six-component-balance. This study, which is a complementary study to the approach of performing yover measurements on ying birds, further conrms experimentally that the silent owl ight is a consequence of the special wing and plumage adaptations of the owls and not a consequence of their lower ight speed only.

Inspired by the results from acoustic measurements on flying owls and prepared owl wings that support the thesis of the silent flight of owls, measurements were conducted on technical airfoils made from open-porous, flow-permeable materials, characterized by their air flow resistivity, in an aeroacoustic wind tunnel. One major objective of these experiments is the identification of porous materials that enable a reduction of aeroacoustic noise. Both the generation of trailing edge noise and the generation of leading edge noise were investigated using microphone array technology and three-dimensional deconvolution beamforming algorithms. The highest trailing edge noise reduction per unit lift force can be achieved by using airfoils with medium to high air flow resistivities, while the highest leading edge noise reduction was measured for airfoils with low air flow resistivities.

Mostgeneraofowls(Strigiformes)havetheabilityto flysilently.Themechanismsofthesilent flightoftheowlhave been the subject of scientific interest for many decades. The results from studies in the past are discussed in detail in thispaperandtherationaleforthepresentresearchisgiven,whichincluded flyovernoisemeasurementsondifferent species of birds. Successful acoustic measurements were made on a Common Kestrel, a Harris Hawk, and a Barn Owl. Measurements on three other birds did not lead to reliable results. The setup and procedure used for the outdoor measurements are discussed. These include the estimation of the trajectory from dual video camera recordings and microphone-array measurements with a moving-focus beamforming technique. The main result from the 50 successful flyovers is that the owl flight produces aerodynamic noise that is indeed a few decibels below thatofotherbirds,evenif flyingatthesamespeed.Thisnoisereductionissignificantatfrequenciesabove1.6kHz.At frequencies above 6.3 kHz the noise from the owl remains too quiet to be measured.

The noise generated by the flow around airfoils continues to be one of the important aeroacoustic noise sources. Innovative techniques for airfoil noise reduction are, therefore, of great importance. The present experimental study deals with the use of porous material for the construction of airfoils and the subsequent noise reduction. The use of such material controls the flow around the airfoil and has an influence on the sound generation. The analysis focuses on the characterization of the influence of the porous material parameters, especially the flow resistivity and the porosity, on the noise generation. Results of aeroacoustic wind tunnel tests on several porous and non-porous SD 7003 model scale airfoils are compared. Using microphone array measurements, it was found that not only the overall sound pressure level, but also the spectral characteristics depend on the parameters of the porous material. While the overall sound pressure level decreases in the order of a few decibel, at lower frequencies the reduction is considerable larger and extends 10 dB in some cases. Additionally, the influence of the material parameters on drag and lift is discussed. The aerodynamic performance of the porous airfoils is in general inferior to that of non-porous airfoils. However, there appear to be sets of material parameters that provide a considerable decrease in sound generation and only a minor degradation of aerodynamic eciency.

ow{permeable materials is a known method for the reduction of airfoil aeroacoustic noise. Detailed acoustic measurements on the noise generation at the leading edge of porous airfoil models were performed in an open jet wind tunnel using microphone array measurement techniques and three{dimensional beamforming algorithms. A set of three dierent grids provided the required inow turbulence. Measurement results are presented for the noise generated at the leading edge of porous airfoils, which are characterized by their air ow resistivity, compared to a non{porous reference airfoil. The comparison of the leading edge noise spectra measured for the reference airfoil with theory yields good agreement. The results of the acoustic measurements show that porous airfoils with low air ow resistivities lead to a noticeable noise reduction, which is assumed to be caused by the larger pores of these materials compared to porous airfoils with a higher air ow resistivity.

The present paper describes acoustic and hot–wire measurements that were done in the aeroacoustic wind tunnel at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus on various SD7003–type airfoils made of different porous (flow permeable) materials. The objective of the research is the analysis of the turbulent boundary layer properties of porous airfoils and, subsequently, of the noise generated at the trailing edge. The influence of the porous materials, characterized by their air flow resistivity, is discussed. The acoustic measurements were performed using a planar 56–channel microphone array and the boundary layer properties were measured using constant temperature anemometry. The recorded acoustic data underwent further processing by application of advanced beamforming algorithms. A noticeable reduction of the emitted trailing edge noise was measured for the porous airfoils over a large range of frequencies. At high frequencies, some of the porous airfoils were found to generate more noise than the reference airfoil which might be due to the surface roughness noise contribution. It is found that the turbulent boundary layer thickness and the boundary layer displacement thickness of the airfoils increase with decreasing flow resistivities for both suction and pressure side. Both boundary layer thickness and displacement thickness of the porous airfoils are greater than those of a non-porous reference airfoil

Proceedings of the ICA 2019 and EAA Euroregio : 23rd International Congress on Acoustics, integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019 : 9-13 September 2019, Aachen, Germany / proceedings editor: Martin Ochmann, Michael Vorländer, Janina Fels 23rd International Congress on Acoustics, integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019, ICA 2019, Aachen, Germany, 9 Sep 2019 - 13 Sep 2019; Aachen (2019)., Published by Aachen

The use of porous trailing edges is one possible approach to reduce airfoil trailing edge noise. Past experiments on fully porous airfoil models showed that a noticeable noise reduction can be achieved. However, this reduction is accompanied by a loss in aerodynamic performance. To combine the acoustic advantages of the porous trailing edge with the aerodynamic advantages of a non-porous airfoil, the generation of trailing edge noise of airfoil models that only have a porous trailing edge is investigated. To this end, initial experiments were performed on a set of airfoils with porous trailing edges of varying chordwise extent in an open jet wind tunnel, using microphone array measurement technique and a deconvolution beamforming algorithm. The lift forces and drag forces were measured simultaneously to the acoustic measurements. Additionally, hot-wire measurements were performed to allow conclusions on the underlying mechanisms that enable the noise reduction. It could be demonstrated that, depending on the porous material, airfoils that are non-porous except for their trailing edge can still lead to a noticeable trailing edge noise reduction, while providing a better aerodynamic performance.