Validation data for aircraft noise shielding prediction

Abstract

The design of future low-noise aircraft will require an account of noise shielding as a fundamental design parameter. This aspect was already recognized in the 70s, where early experimental work set the ground on possible solutions to the conventional, short and reduced take-off and landing noise problem. The current low-noise aircraft design concepts of the hybrid-wing-body type require establishing a new knowledge base to allow an assessment of their potential noise benefit. Experimental work done in the course of the last 15 years slowly moved in this direction with the establishment of new testing methodologies. Currently available databases render an estimation of the turbomachinery noise shielding benefit of specific design choices on aircraft of the hybrid-wing-body type possible. Still, research in this domain would strongly benefit from the development of reliable and flexible numerical prediction methods. Recent experimental results obtained using a broadband non-intrusive laser-based sound source are presented. The methodology is used to conduct experiments on a wide range of configurations, providing an extensive high-quality validation database. The paper presents an overview of available datasets of dedicated experimental investigations, ranging from simple generic test cases to full 3D aircraft configurations, as well as comparisons with numerical results.