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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Advanced turboprop wing installation effects measured by unsteady blade pressure and noise

A single rotation model propeller (SR-7A) was tested at simulated takeoff/approach conditions (Mach 0.2), in the NASA Lewis 9- by 15-Ft Anechoic Wind Tunnel. Both unsteady blade surface pressures and noise measurements were made for a tractor configuration with propeller/straight wing and propeller alone configurations. The angle between the wing chord and propeller axis (droop angle) was varied along with the wing angle of attack to determine the effects on noise and unsteady loading. A method was developed that uses unsteady blade pressure measurements to provide a quantitative indication of propeller inflow conditions, at least for a uniform (across the propeller disk) inflow angle. The wing installation caused a nearly uniform upwash at the propeller inlet as evidenced by the domination of the pressure spectra by the first shaft order. This inflow angle increased at a rate of almost 150 percent of that of the wing angle-of-attack for a propeller-wing spacing of 0.54 wing chords at a constant droop angle. The flyover noise, as measured by the maximum blade passing frequency level, correlates closely with the propeller inflow angle (approx. 0.6 dB per degree of inflow angle) for all droop angles and wing angles of attack tested, including the propeller alone data. Large changes in the unsteady pressure responses on the suction surface of the blade were observed as the advance ratio was varied. The presence of a leading edge vortex may explain this behavior since changes in the location of this vortex would change with loading (advance ratio).

Heidelberg, Laurence J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Advanced turboprop wing installation effects measured by unsteady blade pressure and noise

A single rotation model propeller (SR-7A) was tested at simulated takeoff/approach conditions (Mach 0.2), in the NASA Lewis 9- by 15-Ft Anechoic Wind Tunnel. Both unsteady blade surface pressures and noise measurements were made for a tractor configuration with propeller/straight wing and propeller alone configurations. The angle between the wing chord and propeller axis (droop angle) was varied along with the wing angle of attack to determine the effects on noise and unsteady loading. A method was developed that uses unsteady blade pressure measurements to provide a quantitative indication of propeller inflow conditions, at least for a uniform (across the propeller disk) inflow angle. The wing installation caused a nearly uniform upwash at the propeller inlet as evidenced by the domination of the pressure spectra by the first shaft order. This inflow angle increased at a rate of almost 150 percent of that of the wing angle-of-attack for a propeller-wing spacing of 0.54 wing chords at a constant droop angle. The flyover noise, as measured by the maximum blade passing frequency level, correlates closely with the propeller inflow angle (approx. 0.6 dB per degree of inflow angle) for all droop angles and wing angles of attack tested, including the propeller alone data. Large changes in the unsteady pressure responses on the suction surface of the blade were observed as the advance ratio was varied. The presence of a leading edge vortex may explain this behavior since changes in the location of this vortex would change with loading (advance ratio).

Heidelberg, Laurence J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Static and wind tunnel model tests for the development of externally blown flap noise reduction techniques

Externally blown flap models were tested for noise and performance at one-fifth scale in a static facility and at one-tenth scale in a large acoustically-treated wind tunnel. The static tests covered two flap designs, conical and ejector nozzles, third-flap noise-reduction treatments, internal blowing, and flap/nozzle geometry variations. The wind tunnel variables were triple-slotted or single-slotted flaps, sweep angle, and solid or perforated third flap. The static test program showed the following noise reductions at takeoff: 1.5 PNdB due to treating the third flap; 0.5 PNdB due to blowing from the third flap; 6 PNdB at flyover and 4.5 PNdB in the critical sideline plane (30 deg elevation) due to installation of the ejector nozzle. The wind tunnel program showed a reduction of 2 PNdB in the sideline plane due to a forward speed of 43.8 m/s (85 kn). The best combination of noise reduction concepts reduced the sideline noise of the reference aircraft at constant field length by 4 PNdB.

Pennock, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Relative effectiveness of several simulated jet engine noise spectral treatments in reducing annoyance in a TV-viewing situation

An experiment was conducted in order to determine the relative effectiveness of several hypothetical jet engine noise treatments and to test hypothesis that speech interference, at least in part, mediates annoyance in a TV-viewing situation. Twenty-four subjects watched television in a simulated living room. Recorded jet flyover noises were presented in such a way as to create the illusion that aircraft were actually flying overhead. There were 27 stimuli (nine spectra at three overall levels) presented at an average rate of approximately one flight every 2 minutes. Subjects judged the annoyance value of individual stimuli using either a category rating method or magnitude estimation method in each of two 1-hour sessions. The spectral treatments most effective in reducing annoyance were at 1.6 Khz and 800 Hz, in that order. The degree of annoyance reduction resulting from all treatments was affected by the overall sound level of the stimuli, with the greatest reduction at the intermediate overall sound level, about 88 to 89 db(A), peak value. The results are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that speech interference, at least in part, mediates annoyance with aircraft noise in a TV-viewing situation.

Gunn, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Effects of sound level fluctuations on annoyance caused by aircraft-flyover noise

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the effects of variations in the rate and magnitude of sound level fluctuations on the annoyance caused by aircraft-flyover noise. The effects of tonal content, noise duration, and sound pressure level on annoyance were also studied. An aircraft-noise synthesis system was used to synthesize 32 aircraft-flyover noise stimuli representing the factorial combinations of 2 tone conditions, 2 noise durations, 2 sound pressure levels, 2 level fluctuation rates, and 2 level fluctuation magnitudes. Thirty-two test subjects made annoyance judgements on a total of 64 stimuli in a subjective listening test facility simulating an outdoor acoustic environment. Variations in the rate and magnitude of level fluctuations were found to have little, if any, effect on annoyance. Tonal content, noise duration, sound pressure level, and the interaction of tonal content with sound pressure level were found to affect the judged annoyance significantly. The addition of tone corrections and/or duration corrections significantly improved the annoyance prediction ability of noise rating scales.

Mccurdy, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Flight test of a pure-tone acoustic source

Static and flight testing of a pure-tone acoustic source were conducted in order to: (1) determine if a 4-KHz tone radiated by a source in flight and mixed with broadband aircraft flyover noise could be measured on the ground with a high degree of statistical confidence; (2) determine how well a comparison could be made of flight-to-static tone radiation pattern and a static radiation pattern; and (3) determine if there were any installation effects on the radiation pattern due to the flight vehicle. Narrow-band acoustic data were measured and averaged over eight microphones to obtain a high statistical confidence. The flight data were adjusted to an equivalent static condition by applying corrections for retarded time, spherical spreading, atmospheric absorption, ground impedance, instrumentation constraints, convective amplification, and the Doppler shift. The flight-to-static results are in excellent agreement with the measured static data. No installation effects were observed on the radiation pattern.

Mueller, A. W.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Development and Calibration of a Field-Deployable Microphone Phased Array for Propulsion and Airframe Noise Flyover Measurements

A new aeroacoustic measurement capability has been developed consisting of a large channelcount, field-deployable microphone phased array suitable for airframe noise flyover measurements for a range of aircraft types and scales. The array incorporates up to 185 hardened, weather-resistant sensors suitable for outdoor use. A custom 4-mA current loop receiver circuit with temperature compensation was developed to power the sensors over extended cable lengths with minimal degradation of the signal to noise ratio and frequency response. Extensive laboratory calibrations and environmental testing of the sensors were conducted to verify the design's performance specifications. A compact data system combining sensor power, signal conditioning, and digitization was assembled for use with the array. Complementing the data system is a robust analysis system capable of near real-time presentation of beamformed and deconvolved contour plots and integrated spectra obtained from array data acquired during flyover passes. Additional instrumentation systems needed to process the array data were also assembled. These include a commercial weather station and a video monitoring / recording system. A detailed mock-up of the instrumentation suite (phased array, weather station, and data processor) was performed in the NASA Langley Acoustic Development Laboratory to vet the system performance. The first deployment of the system occurred at Finnegan Airfield at Fort A.P. Hill where the array was utilized to measure the vehicle noise from a number of sUAS (small Unmanned Aerial System) aircraft. A unique in-situ calibration method for the array microphones using a hovering aerial sound source was attempted for the first time during the deployment.

Humphreys, William M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

En route noise levels from propfan test assessment airplane

The en route noise test was designed to characterize propagation of propfan noise from cruise altitudes to the ground. In-flight measurements of propfan source levels and directional patterns were made by a chase plane flying in formation with the propfan test assessment (PTA) airplane. Ground noise measurements were taken during repeated flights over a distributed microphone array. The microphone array on the ground was used to provide ensemble-averaged estimates of mean flyover noise levels, establish confidence limits for those means, and measure propagation-induced noise variability. Even for identical nominal cruise conditions, peak sound levels for individual overflights varied substantially about the average, particularly when overflights were performed on different days. Large day-to-day variations in peak level measurements appeared to be caused by large day-to-day differences in propagation conditions and tended to obscure small variations arising from operating conditions. A parametric evaluation of the sensitivity of this prediction method to weather measurement and source level uncertainties was also performed. In general, predictions showed good agreement with measurements. However, the method was unable to predict short-term variability of ensemble-averaged data within individual overflights. Although variations in absorption appear to be the dominant factor in variations of peak sound levels recorded on the ground, accurate predictions of those levels require that a complete description of operational conditions be taken into account. The comprehensive and integrated methods presented in this paper have adequately predicted ground-measured sound levels. On average, peak sound levels were predicted within 3 dB for each of the three different cruise conditions.

Garber, Donald P.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Helicopter rotor trailing edge noise

A two dimensional section of a helicopter main rotor blade was tested in an acoustic wind tunnel at close to full-scale Reynolds numbers to obtain boundary layer data and acoustic data for use in developing an acoustic scaling law and testing a first principles trailing edge noise theory. Results were extended to the rotating frame coordinate system to develop a helicopter rotor trailing edge noise prediction. Comparisons of the calculated noise levels with helicopter flyover spectra demonstrate that trailing edge noise contributes significantly to the total helicopter noise spectrum at high frequencies. This noise mechanism is expected to control the minimum rotor noise. In the case of noise radiation from a local blade segment, the acoustic directivity pattern is predicted by the first principles trailing edge noise theory. Acoustic spectra are predicted by a scaling law which includes Mach number, boundary layer thickness and observer position. Spectrum shape and sound pressure level are also predicted by the first principles theory but the analysis does not predict the Strouhal value identifying the spectrum peak.

Schlinker, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Auralization of Amplitude Modulated Helicopter Flyover Noise

Rotorcraft noise is an active field of study as the sound produced by these vehicles is often found to be annoying. A means to auralize rotorcraft flyover noise is sought to help understand the factors leading to annoyance. Previous work by the authors auralized a complete flyover event in which the source noise synthesis traversed a range of emission angles. The source noise definition process for the synthesis used helicopter flyover recordings. Although this process yielded both periodic and aperiodic (modulation) components at a set of discrete emission angles, only the periodic components were used in the previous work to synthesize the sound of the flyover event. In the current work, aperiodic amplitude modulation is incorporated into the source noise synthesis to improve its fidelity toward assessing rotorcraft noise annoyance. The method is demonstrated using ground recordings from a flight test of the AS350 helicopter for the source noise definition.

Krishnamurthy, Siddhartha↗
NASA NTRS1993

The influence of source acceleration on acoustic signals

The effect of aircraft acceleration on acoustic signals is often ignored in both analytical studies and data reduction of flight test measurements. In this study, the influence of source acceleration on acoustic signals is analyzed using computer simulated signals for an accelerating point source. Both rotating and translating sources are considered. Using a known signal allows an assessment of the influence of source acceleration on the received signal. Aircraft acceleration must also be considered in the measurement and reduction of flyover noise. Tracking of the aircraft over an array of microphones enables ensemble averaging of the acoustic signal, thus increasing the confidence in the measured data. This is only valid when both the altitude and velocity remain constant. For an accelerating aircraft, each microphone is exposed to differing flight velocities, Doppler shifts, and smear angles. Thus, averaging across the array in the normal manner is constrained by aircraft acceleration and microphone spacing. In this study computer simulated spectra, containing acceleration, are averaged across a 12 microphone array mimicking a flight test with accelerated profile in which noise data was obtained. Overlapped processing is performed is performed in the flight test measurements in order to alleviate spectral smearing.

Kelly, Jeffrey J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Acoustic and Aerothermal Performance Test of the Axisymmetric Coannular Ejector Nozzle: Acoustic Performance - Volume 2

Acoustic and propulsion performance testing of a model-scale Axisymmetric Coannular Ejector nozzle was conducted in the Boeing Low-speed Aeroacoustic Facility. This nozzle is a plug nozzle with an ejector design to provide aspiration of about 20% of the engine flow. A variety of mixing enhancers were designed to promote mixing of the engine and the aspirated flows. These included delta tabs, tone-injection rods, and wheeler ramps. This report addresses the acoustic aspects of the testing. The spectral characteristics of the various configurations of the nozzle are examined on a model-scale basis. This includes indentifying particular noise sources contributing to the spectra and the data are projected to full-scale flyover conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of the nozzle, and of the various mixing enhancers, on reducing the Effective Perceived Noise Levels.

Herkes, William↗
NASA NTRS2002

Lobed Mixer Design for Noise Suppression Acoustic and Aerodynamic Test Data Analysis

A comprehensive database for the acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of several model-scale lobe mixers of bypass ratio 5 to 6 has been created for mixed jet speeds up to 1080 ft/s at typical take-off (TO) conditions of small-to-medium turbofan engines. The flight effect was simulated for Mach numbers up to 0.3. The static thrust performance and plume data were also obtained at typical TO and cruise conditions. The tests were done at NASA Lewis anechoic dome and ASK's FluiDyne Laboratories. The effect of several lobe mixer and nozzle parameters, such as, lobe scalloping, lobe count, lobe penetration and nozzle length was examined in terms of flyover noise at constant altitude. Sound in the nozzle reference frame was analyzed to understand the source characteristics. Several new concepts, mechanisms and methods are reported for such lobed mixers, such as, "boomerang" scallops, "tongue" mixer, detection of "excess" internal noise sources, and extrapolation of flyover noise data from one flight speed to different flight speeds. Noise reduction of as much as 3 EPNdB was found with a deeply scalloped mixer compared to annular nozzle at net thrust levels of 9500 lb for a 29 in. diameter nozzle after optimizing the nozzle length.

Mengle, Vinod G.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Flight velocity influence on jet noise of conical ejector, annular plug and segmented suppressor nozzles

An F106 aircraft with a J85-13 engine was used for static and flight acoustic and aerodynamic tests of a conical ejector, an unsuppressed annular plug, and three segmented suppressor nozzles. Static 100 ft. arc data, corrected for influences other than jet noise, were extrapolated to a 300 ft. sideline for comparison to 300 ft. altitude flyover data at M = 0.4. Data at engine speeds of 80 to 100% (max dry) static and 88 to 100% flight are presented. Flight velocity influence on noise is shown on peak OASPL and PNL, PNL directivity, EPNL and chosen spectra. Peak OASPL and PNL plus EPNL suppression levels are included showing slightly lower flight than static peak PNL suppression but greater EPNL than peak PNL suppression. Aerodynamic performance was as anticipated and closely matched model work for the 32-spoke nozzle.

Brausch, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Recording-Based Method for Auralization of Rotorcraft Flyover Noise

Rotorcraft noise is an active field of study as the sound produced by these vehicles is often found to be annoying. A means to auralize rotorcraft flyover noise is sought to help understand the factors leading to annoyance. Previous work by the authors focused on auralization of rotorcraft fly-in noise, in which a simplification was made that enabled the source noise synthesis to be based on a single emission angle. Here, the goal is to auralize a complete flyover event, so the source noise synthesis must be capable of traversing a range of emission angles. The synthesis uses a source noise definition process that yields periodic and aperiodic (modulation) components at a set of discrete emission angles. In this work, only the periodic components are used for the source noise synthesis for the flyover; the inclusion of modulation components is the subject of ongoing research. Propagation of the synthesized source noise to a ground observer is performed using the NASA Auralization Framework. The method is demonstrated using ground recordings from a flight test of the AS350 helicopter for the source noise definition.

Pera, Nicholas M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A perceptual evaluation of the efficacy of Sound Exposure Level in the rating of annoyance to helicopter noise

A psychoacoustic test was performed that aimed to test how well Sound Exposure Level (SEL) is at indicating changes in annoyance to helicopter noise for simple changes in design as well as for realistic changes found from flight tests. In particular, SEL was evaluated for auralizations of optimized designs of rotor geometries when compared to a baseline design and for recordings that compare different helicopters and maneuvers. Paired comparisons consisted of the 10dB-down portion of flyovers, which is the same portion used to calculate SEL. When played at the same SEL, annoyance responses showed in which cases SEL is a good indicator as well as when other aspects not included in the calculation of SEL may be important. Annoyance responses for relative differences in SEL allowed the calculation of an Equal Annoyance Point, giving further insight to the performance of SEL. Confidence intervals calculated with Monte Carlo simulations showed when responses are statistically different from the equal SEL comparison and also gave an indication of the necessary reduction for designers to be confident that a low noise design is impactful or that a difference in rotorcraft or maneuver is perceptually favorable.

psychoacoustics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Perceptual Evaluation of the Efficacy of Sound Exposure Level in the Rating of Annoyance to Helicopter Noise

A psychoacoustic test was performed that aimed to test how well Sound Exposure Level (LAE) is at indicating changes in annoyance to helicopter noise for simple changes in design as well as for realistic changes found from flight tests. In particular, LAE was evaluated for auralizations of optimized designs of rotor geometries when compared to a baseline design and for recordings that compare different helicopters and maneuvers. Paired comparisons consisted of the 10dBA-down portion of flyovers, which is the same portion used to calculate LAE. When played at the same LAE, annoyance responses showed in which cases LAE is a good indicator as well as when other aspects not included in the calculation of LAE may be important. Annoyance responses for relative differences in LAE allowed the calculation of an Equal Annoyance Point, giving further insight to the performance of LAE. Confidence intervals calculated with Monte Carlo simulations showed when responses are statistically different from the equal LAE comparison and also gave an indication of the necessary reduction for designers to be confident that a low noise design is impactful or that a difference in rotorcraft or maneuver is perceptually favorable.

Matthew Alban Boucher↗
NASA NTRS1978

The effect of operations on the ground noise footprints associated with a large multibladed, nonbanging helicopter

In order to expand the data base of helicopter external noise characteristics, a flyover noise measurement program was conducted utilizing the NASA Civil Helicopter Research Aircraft. The remotely operated multiple array acoustics range (ROMAAR) and a 2560-m linear microphone array were utilized for the purpose of documenting the noise characteristics of the test helicopter during flyby and landing operations. By utilizing both ROMAAR concept and the linear array, the data necessary to plot the ground noise footprints and noise radiation patterns were obtained. Examples of the measured noise signature of the test helicopter, the ground noise footprint or contours, and the directivity patterns measured during level flyby and landing operations of a large, multibladed, nonbanging helicopter, the CH-53, are presented.

Hilton, D. A.↗