Assessment of the Noise Reduction Potential of Advanced Subsonic Transport Concepts for NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project

Aircraft system noise is predicted for a portfolio of NASA advanced concepts with 2025 entry-into-service technology assumptions. The subsonic transport concepts include tube-and-wing configurations with engines mounted under the wing, over the wing nacelle integration, and a double deck fuselage with engines at a mid-fuselage location. Also included are hybrid wing body aircraft with engines upstream of the fuselage trailing edge. Both advanced direct drive engines and geared turbofan engines are modeled. Recent acoustic experimental information was utilized in the prediction for several key technologies. The 301-passenger class hybrid wing body with geared ultra high bypass engines is assessed at 40.3 EPNLdB cumulative below the Stage 4 certification level. Other hybrid wing body and unconventional tube-and-wing configurations reach levels of 33 EPNLdB or more below the certification level. Many factors contribute to the system level result; however, the hybrid wing body in the 301-passenger class, as compared to a tubeand- wing with conventional engine under wing installation, has 11.9 EPNLdB of noise reduction due to replacing reflection with acoustic shielding of engine noise sources. Therefore, the propulsion airframe aeroacoustic interaction effects clearly differentiate the unconventional configurations that approach levels close to or exceed the 42 EPNLdB goal

Prediction of contra-rotating open rotor broadband noise in isolated and installed configurations

Broadband noise is a significant part of the noise emitted by contra-rotating open rotors. Several noise sources can contribute to the total broadband sound field, with the most dominant ones probably being trailing edge noise, rotor-wake interaction noise and pylon-wake interaction noise. This paper addresses the prediction of these noise sources using analytical models based on Amiet’s flat plate airfoil theory and also to empirical turbulence models, fed by input data extracted from steady and unsteady CFD RANS simulations. The models are assessed against wind tunnel tests of Rolls-Royce’s rig 145 (build 1) conducted at the DNW anechoic open jet test facility using Rolls-Royce blades and Airbus pylons. The study showed promising results in terms of the ability of the models to predict acoustic power spectrum shapes, peak frequencies and absolute levels. The effects of changes in thrust on broadband wake-interaction noise are well reproduced. However, the models significantly underestimate the effect of thrust on trailing edge noise and the effect of rotational velocity on pylon interaction noise

Fan Noise Prediction: Status and Needs

science. The NASA Scientific and Technica