Numerical study of the sound generated by two tandem arranged wings in forward flight

Abstract

The sound generated by two tandem arranged flexible wings in forward flight is numerically studied by using an immersed boundary method, at a Reynolds number of 100 and Mach number of 0.1. Three distinct cases are studied, encompassing a single wing and two tandem wings flapping in phase and out of phase. The sound generation of flapping wings is systematically studied by varying the wing flexibility (represented by the frequency ratio [Formula: see text]), structure-to-fluid mass ratio ([Formula: see text]), the phase difference (φ), and the gap ([Formula: see text]) between the two flapping wings. The results show that there is a direct correlation between the wing flexibility and sound generation for all cases considered. Specifically, for wings of low mass ratios ([Formula: see text]), an increase in flexibility resulted in a decrease in sound generation. For wings of high mass ratios ([Formula: see text]), an increase in flexibility resulted in higher sound output. The introduction of a second wing flapping in-phase resulted in an increase in aerodynamic features and sound generation, while the introduction of a second wing flapping out-of-phase experiences a decrease in sound output when compared to the in-phase case. In both cases, the effect of the wing flexibility on the sound production is similar to that of the single wing. An increase in flexibility is also found to have an impact on the plane of maximum sound pressure. For example, increasing flexibility resulted in a rotation of the plane of maximum sound pressure counter-clockwise relative to those at lower frequency ratios. Flexible wings with a structure-to-fluid mass ratio of unity and medium flexibility (i.e. [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) are found to generate lower sound with high aerodynamic performance conserved.