Analysis of wind noise measurements

Abstract

Wind noise in outdoor microphone measurements is composed of both the noise due to intrinsic turbulence in the flow and that due to the flow interacting with the microphone. This paper presents the analysis of wind noise and turbulence data taken in an outdoor environment in an effort to determine the primary source of the wind noise. Bare microphone data are compared with data taken during the same time period from microphones covered with a nose cone, a Bruel and Kjaer spherical windscreen, and a variety of experimental windscreens developed at the University of Mississippi. The theory behind these experimental screens is also presented and is compared to the experimental data. Conclusions concerning the dominant source of wind noise are drawn by examining microphone data and turbulence data and comparing them with published microphone data. The effectiveness of different windscreens is also examined. [Work supported by MIT Lincoln Laboratory.]