Trailing edge noise from hovering rotors

Abstract

A method has been developed to predict the high frequency broadband noise due to the interaction of convecting turbulent eddies with the trailing edges of a hovering rotor. The trailing edge noise from each blade was modeled as point dipole noise with spanwise loading corrections. This point dipole approximation was checked by applying the concept to a stationary airfoil in a moving medium with excellent results. In order to estimate the strength of the point dipole, the trailing edge noise theory of Amiet was used. The method was applied specifically to blade boundary layer turbulence and compared to incident atmospheric turbulence noise. The results indicate that the relative importance of these two mechanisms is related to the magnitudes of the intensity and of the length scales of the inflow and boundary layer turbulence. The results tend to fall below some available experimental data indicating that in those experiments other broadband noise sources were stronger than boundary layer-trailing edge noise. The approach which was developed is also applicable to other blade-turbulence interaction mechanisms such as local stall and tip noise.