Wall-pressure spectra, spanwise correlation, and far-field noise measurements of a NACA 0008 airfoil under uniform and turbulent inflows

Abstract

This paper discusses unique measurements of wall-pressure fluctuations (WPFs), spanwise correlation length, and far-field noise of a NACA 0008 airfoil subjected to uniform, non-turbulent and turbulent inflows. From these measurements, the near-field characteristics of trailing-edge (TE) and leading-edge (LE) noise of a thin airfoil are analyzed. The competing nature of the LE and TE noise mechanisms of an airfoil subjected to a turbulent inflow is also investigated. Experiments were performed in the Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel of the University of Twente for a chord-based Reynolds number ranging from 3.2×105 to 9×105 for a uniform inflow and a rod-generated turbulent inflow with a turbulence intensity of approximately 18%. The effective angles of attack ranged from -5∘ to 5∘. Measurements of the boundary layer at the TE, the WPFs along the chord and span, and the far-field radiated noise were performed. For the uniform inflow case, laminar-boundary-layer noise, turbulent-boundary-layer (TBL) noise, and blunt TE noise sources are identified. The far-field noise spectrum presents similar components in the frequency domain as the WPF spectrum and the spanwise correlation length at the TE. The angle of attack mainly affects the WPF spectrum and spanwise correlation length for chord-based Strouhal numbers St<10. The angle of attack slightly affects the TE noise with a maximum variation of 3 dB for 10<St<60. For the turbulent inflow case, it is observed that the turbulence significantly affects the WPFs and spanwise correlation length along the chord, increasing considerably compared to the case of uniform inflow. The highest WPF spectral level and the larger spanwise correlation length occur at positions close to the LE. The results show that the turbulent inflow yields a higher WPF spectral level and larger spanwise correlation length at the TE, resulting in higher levels of TE noise. However, LE noise is still the dominant noise source for St<25.2. For higher frequencies, the TE noise level is expected to become higher than the LE noise level.