Aeroacoustic emissions were identified as a primary concern in the public acceptance of wind turbines. A review of literature involving sound localization was undertaken and led to the design of two microphone arrays to identify acoustic sources. A small-scale array composed of 27 sensors was produced with the intention of improving the quality of sound measurements over those made by a single microphone in a small, closed-loop wind tunnel. A large-scale array containing 30 microphones was also implemented to allow for measurements of aeroacoustic emissions from airfoils and rotating wind turbines. To minimize cost and pursue alternative sensor technologies, microelectromechanical microphones were selected for the array sensors and assembled into the arrays on printed circuit boards. Characterization of the microphones was completed using a combination of calibration techniques, primarily in a plane wave tube. Array response to known sources was quantified by analyzing source maps with respect to source location accuracy, beamwidth, and root mean square error. Multiple sources and rotating sources were tested to assess array performance. Following validation with known sources, wind tunnel testing of a 600 watt wind turbine was performed at freestream speeds of 2.5 m/s, 3.5 m/s, 4.5 m/s, and to 5.5 m/s. Significant aeroacoustic emissions were noted from the turbine in the 4.5 m/s and 5.5 m/s cases, with an increase of up to 12 dB over background levels. Source maps from the 5.5 m/s tests revealed that the primary location of aeroacoustic emissions was near the outer radii of the rotor, but not at the tip, and generally moved radially outward with increasing frequency. The azimuthal location of the greatest sound pressure levels was typically found to be between 120º and 130º measured counterclockwise from the upward vertical, coinciding with the predicted location of greatest emissions provided by an analytical model based on dipole directivity and convective amplification. Analysis of the acoustic spectra, turbine operating characteristics, and previous literature suggested that the sound emissions emanated from the trailing edge of the blades.

A scaling model based on an effective Gol'dberg number is proposed for predicting the presence of cumulative nonlinear distortions in the acoustic waveforms produced by high-speed jets. Two acoustic length scales, the shock formation distance and the absorption length are expressed in terms of jet exit parameters. This approach allows one to compute the degree of cumulative nonlinear distortion in a full-scale scenario, from laboratory-scale observations, or vice versa. Surveys of the acoustic pressure waveforms emitted by a laboratory-scale, shock-free and unheated Mach 3 jet are used to support the findings of the model. These acoustic waveforms are acquired on a planar grid in an acoustically treated and range-restricted environment. Various statistical metrics are employed to examine the degree of local and cumulative nonlinearity in the measured waveforms and their temporal derivatives. This includes skewness, kurtosis, the number of zero crossings in the waveform, a wave steepening factor, the Morfey-Howell nonlinearity indicator and an application of the generalized Burgers equation. It is advocated that in order for the Morfey-Howell indicator to be used as an investigative tool for the presence of cumulative nonlinear waveform distortion, that it be applied as a multi-point indicator. Based on findings of the model and the spatial topography of the metrics, it is concluded that cumulative nonlinear steepening effects are absent in the current data set. This implies that acoustic shock-structures in the waveforms are generated by local mechanisms in, or in close vicinity to, the jet's hydrodynamic region. Furthermore, these shock-structures induce the crackle noise component. The research aims to quantify crackle in a temporal and spectral fashion, and is motivated by the fact that (1) it is perceived as the most annoying component of jet noise, (2) no unique measures of crackle exist, and (3) significant reductions in jet noise will be achieved when crackle can be controlled. A unique detection algorithm is introduced which isolates the shock-structures in the temporal waveform that are responsible for crackle. Ensemble-averages of the identified waveform sections are employed to gain an in-depth understanding of the crackling structures. Moreover, PDF's of the temporal intermittence of these shocks reveal modal trends and show evidence that crackling shock-structures are present in groups of multiple shocks. A spectral measure of crackle is considered by using wavelet-based time-frequency analyses. The increase in sound energy is computed by considering the global pressure spectra of the waveforms and the ones that represent the spectral behavior during instances of crackle. This energy-based metric is postulated to be an appropriate metric for the level of crackle. / text

A new method, Computational Acoustic Beamforming, is proposed in this thesis. This novel numerical sound source localization methodology combines the advantages of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation and experimental acoustic beamforming, which enable this method to take directivity of sound source emission into account while maintaining a relatively low cost. This method can also aid the optimization of beamforming algorithm and microphone array design. In addition, it makes sound source prediction of large structures in the low frequency range possible. Three modules, CFD, Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA) and acoustic beamforming, are incorporated in this proposed method. This thesis adopts an open source commercial software OpenFOAM for the flow field simulation with the Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) turbulence model. The CAA calculation is conducted by an in-house code using impermeable Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation for static sound source. The acoustic beamforming is performed by an in-house Delay and Sum (DAS) beamformer code with several different microphone array designs. Each module has been validated with currently available experimental data and numerical results. A flow over NACA 0012 airfoil case was chosen as a demonstration case for the new method. The aerodynamics and aeroacoustics results are shown and compared with the experimental measurements. A relatively good agreement has been achieved which gives the confidence of using this newly proposed method in sound source localization applications.

Aeroacoustic emissions were identified as a primary concern in the public acceptance of wind turbines. A review of literature involving sound localization was undertaken and led to the design of two microphone arrays to identify acoustic sources. A small-scale array composed of 27 sensors was produced with the intention of improving the quality of sound measurements over those made by a single microphone in a small, closed-loop wind tunnel. A large-scale array containing 30 microphones was also implemented to allow for measurements of aeroacoustic emissions from airfoils and rotating wind turbines. To minimize cost and pursue alternative sensor technologies, microelectromechanical microphones were selected for the array sensors and assembled into the arrays on printed circuit boards. Characterization of the microphones was completed using a combination of calibration techniques, primarily in a plane wave tube. Array response to known sources was quantified by analyzing source maps with respect to source location accuracy, beamwidth, and root mean square error. Multiple sources and rotating sources were tested to assess array performance. Following validation with known sources, wind tunnel testing of a 600 watt wind turbine was performed at freestream speeds of 2.5 m/s, 3.5 m/s, 4.5 m/s, and to 5.5 m/s. Significant aeroacoustic emissions were noted from the turbine in the 4.5 m/s and 5.5 m/s cases, with an increase of up to 12 dB over background levels. Source maps from the 5.5 m/s tests revealed that the primary location of aeroacoustic emissions was near the outer radii of the rotor, but not at the tip, and generally moved radially outward with increasing frequency. The azimuthal location of the greatest sound pressure levels was typically found to be between 120º and 130º measured counterclockwise from the upward vertical, coinciding with the predicted location of greatest emissions provided by an analytical model based on dipole directivity and convective amplification. Analysis of the acoustic spectra, turbine operating characteristics, and previous literature suggested that the sound emissions emanated from the trailing edge of the blades.

No description available.

No description available.

The relationship between distinctive characteristic fluid-flow regimes and the sound radiation generated by them has been investigated, over a range of Reynolds numbers, for various single plates and two-plate arrays in nominally two-dimensional flows. In preliminary experiments, the characteristics of flow over single plates with rectangular cross-section and faired leading edges and over tandem arrays of an upstream plate with rectangular cross-section and faired leading edges and a downstream plate of rectangular cross-section were investigated, together with the sound radiation produced. However, the main investigation has been concentrated on single plates of rectangular cross-section with various chord-to-thickness ratios C and on arrays of two plates of rectangular cross-section in tandem having various chord-to-thickness ratios C₁ and C₂ and a range of gaps (with gap-to-thickness ratios G) between them. The range of Reynolds number based on plate thickness t and free-stream velocity U, Re[subscript]t = Ut/ν (where ν is the kinematic viscosity of fluid) covered in the measurements is 3.2 x 10[superscript]3 ≤ Re[subscript]t 53 x 10[superscript]3. Spectra of velocity fluctuations in the flow and radiated sound have been measured and their characteristic frequencies related. An attempt has been made to measure force fluctuations on surfaces of the plates in order to relate them to flow characteristics and radiated sound power. Mean and fluctuating pressures associated with the force fluctuations on the plates have also been obtained. The lengths of separation bubbles on long rectangular plates have also been determined. In most cases, the measurements have been complemented by flow-visualisation in a water tunnel to provide additional detailed insight into the flow patterns. Three flow regimes have been identified for single plates of rectangular cross-section. In the first regime (1 ≤ C ≤ 3.13), shear layers separated from the leading edges form a vortex street downstream of the plate without reattachment to it. Associated force fluctuations on the plate are the main source of acoustic radiation. In the second regime (3.05 ≤ C ≤ 9.65), the separated shear layers reattach intermittently to the streamwise plate surfaces. Vortex formation in the shear layer is the dominant cause of sound radiation but the effect becomes weaker as C increases. In the third regime (6.52 ≤ C ≤ 68), the separated shear layers form closed leading-edge separation bubbles. Weak vortex shedding, with only a small contribution to the sound radiation, occurs only at the trailing edges of the plate. Bistable behaviour of the flow over a plate, with random switching between the regimes, occurs for C ≈ 3 and 6.52 ≤ C ≤ 9.65. A proposed classification of possible flow regimes for the flow around two plates of rectangular cross-section in tandem has been confirmed experimentally. For small G, the flow in the gap between the plates is isolated from the external flow. When the gap G between the plates is increased to or beyond a critical value (between 2 and 3.5), the shear layers separated from the upstream plate form a von Karman vortex street in the gap before interacting with the downstream plate. Flow and acoustic measurements indicate that this transition is associated with dramatic changes in the flow character. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1320474 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Mechanical Engineering, 2008

A roof above your head, when in a car, is made possible due to the component calledthe A-pillar in the automotive industry. This component is not only responsible forholding up the roof but also in providing a point for the windscreen to be attached.Hence, it is denitely a part that can not be done away with and any problems arising from it must be solved. The flow over the A-pillar causes formation of vortices which causes an increase in the drag generated by the vehicle. These vortices also cause a high level of noise to be generated, which can cause discomfort inside the vehicle, when it is in motion. Hence, there is a need in the automotive industry to modify the A-pillar so as to reduce the generated drag and noise caused by it. In this thesis, the flow around the A-pillar is analyzed and modications are made accordingly to reduce the impact of the vortices formed due to it. The final resulting design of the A-pillar which has been modied from the aerodynamics and aeroacoustics point of view has been presented. This thesis project also includes the optimization of the method used to implement this. The method involved in obtaining an optimized design of the A-pillar started with the geometry cleaning phase in ANSA, followed by the meshing and simulation phase in FLUENT and finally concluding with the optimization phase in HEEDS. The process of doing this methodology has now been optimized resulting in lesser times between the models being cleaned and optimized. The baseline model obtained from these simulations has been validated by comparing the flow around the vehicle to other works and literature studies. This was done to be certain that the optimization method works to provide correct and accurate results. The optimized design, which called for an increased height was then compared against the baseline model, to understand the flow behavior that lead to the reduction of the output variables.

Increasing awareness of the issues of climate change and sustainable energy use has led to growing levels of interest in small-scale, decentralised power generation. Small-scale wind power has seen significant growth in the last ten years, partly due to the political support for renewable energy and the introduction of Feed In Tariffs, which pay home owners for generating their own electricity. Due to their ability to respond quickly to changing wind conditions, small-scale vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have been proposed as an efficient solution for deployment in built up areas, where the wind is more gusty in nature. If VAWTs are erected in built up areas they will be inherently close to people; consequently, public acceptance of the turbines is essential. One common obstacle to the installation of wind turbines is noise annoyance, so it is important to make the VAWT rotors as quiet as possible. To date, very little work has been undertaken to investigate the sources of noise on VAWTs. The primary aim of this study was therefore to gather experimental data of the noise from various VAWT rotor configurations, for a range of operating conditions. Experimental measurements were carried out using the phased acoustic array in the closed section Markham wind tunnel at Cambridge University Engineering Department. Beamforming was used in conjunction with analysis of the measured sound spectra in order to locate and identify the noise sources on the VAWT rotors. Initial comparisons of the spectra from the model rotor and a full-scale rotor showed good qualitative agreement, suggesting that the conclusions from the experiments would be transferable to real VAWT rotors. One clear feature observed in both sets of spectra was a broadband peak around 1-2kHz, which spectral scaling methods demonstrated was due to laminar boundary layer tonal noise. Application of boundary layer trips to the inner surfaces of the blades on the model rotor was found to eliminate this noise source, and reduced the amplitude of the spectra by up to 10dB in the region of the broadband peak. This method could easily be applied to a full-scale rotor and should result in measurable noise reductions. At low tip speed ratios (TSR) the blades on a VAWT experience dynamic stall and it was found that this led to significant noise radiation from the upstream half of the rotor. As the TSR was increased the dominant source was seen to move to the downstream half of the rotor; this noise was thought to be due to the interaction of the blades in the downstream half of the rotor with the wake from the blades in the upstream half. It was suggested that blade wake interaction is the dominant noise source in the typical range of peak performance for the full-scale QR5 rotor. Different solidity rotors were investigated by using 2-, 3- and 4-bladed rotors and it was found that increasing the solidity had a similar effect to increasing the TSR. This is due to the fact that the induction factor, which governs the deflection of the flow through the rotor, is a function of both the rotor solidity and the TSR. With a large body of experimental data for validation, it was possible to investigate computational noise prediction methods. A harmonic model was developed that aimed to predict the sound radiated by periodic fluctuations in the blade loads. This model was shown to agree with similar models derived by other authors, but to make accurate predictions very high resolution input data was required. Since such high resolution blade loading data is unlikely to be available, and due to the dominance of stochastic sources, the harmonic model was not an especially useful predictive tool. However, it was used to investigate the importance of the near-field components of the sound radiated by the wind tunnel model to the acoustic array. It was shown that the near-field terms were significant over a wide range of frequencies, and the total spectrum was always greater than that of the far-field component. This implied that the noise levels measured by the acoustic array represented an upper bound on the sound radiated to the far-field, and hence that the latter would also be dominated by stochastic components. An alternative application of the harmonic model, which attempted to determine the blade loading harmonics from the harmonics in the sound field was proposed. This inversion method utilised a novel convex optimisation technique that was found to generate good solutions in the simulated test cases, even in the presence of significant random noise. The method was found to be insensitive at low frequencies, which made it ineffective for inverting the real microphone data, although this was shown to be at least partly due to the limitations imposed by the array size. In addition to the harmonic models, an empirical noise prediction method using the spectral scaling laws derived by \citet*{Brooks_1989} was trialled, and was found to be capable of making predictions that were in agreement with the measured data. The model was shown to be sensitive to the exact choice of turbulence parameters used and was also found to require good quality aerodynamic data to make accurate noise predictions. If such data were available however, it is expected that this empirical model would be able to make useful predictions of the noise radiated by a VAWT rotor.

Renewed interest in open rotor aeroengines, due to their fuel efficiency, has driven renewed interest in all aspects of the noise they generate. Noise due to the ingestion of distorted atmospheric turbulence, known as Unsteady Distortion Noise (UDN), is likely to be higher for open rotors than for conventional turbofan engines since the rotors are fully exposed to oncoming turbulence and lack ducting to attenuate the radiated sound. However, UDN has received less attention to date, particularly in wind-tunnel and flight testing programmes. In this thesis a new prediction scheme for UDN is described, which allows inclusion of many key features of real open rotors which have not previously been investigated theoretically. Detailed features of the mean flow induced by the rotor, the form of atmospheric turbulence, asymmetries due to installation features, and the effect of rotor incidence are all considered. Parameter studies are conducted in each of these cases to investigate their effect upon UDN in typical static testing and flight conditions. A thorough review of the technological issues of most relevance and previous theoretical work on all types of turbulence-blade interaction noise is first undertaken. The prediction scheme is then developed for the case in which the mean flow into the rotor is axisymmetric. This shows excellent qualitative agreement with previous findings, with increased streamtube contraction resulting in a more tonal noise spectrum. The theoretical framework involves using Rapid Distortion Theory to calculate the distortion of an isotropic turbulence field (such as given by the von Karman spectrum) by the mean flow induced by the rotor (such as given by actuator disk theory), leading to an expression for the velocity incident upon the leading edge of the rotor blades. Strip theory is then used to calculate the pressure jumps across the blades, input as the forcing term in the far-field wave equation. Models are derived for open rotor-induced flow which account for the variation of blade circulation with radius, and the presence of the rotor hub and rear blade row. An investigation of appropriate turbulence models and realistic turbulence parameters is also undertaken. A key finding is that the heights of the tonal peaks are determined by the overall magnitude of the induced streamtube contraction (dependent on the total thrust generated) whereas the precise form of distortion (affected by the detailed components of the mean flow and the form of atmospheric turbulence present) alters the resulting broadband level. The prediction scheme is formulated in such a way as to facilitate extension to the asymmetric case, which is also fully derived. The model is applied in the first instance to the case of two adjacent rotors and then to the case of a single rotor at incidence. Under flight conditions, when distortion is reduced but UDN can still contribute a significant broadband component to overall noise levels, asymmetry is found to increase broadband levels around 1 Blade Passing Frequency but reduce levels elsewhere.