Rotorcraft design influences noise impacts of multiple vehicles in flight
Rotorcraft design influences noise impacts of multiple vehicles in flight lead image
Commuters of the future could travel around major cities Jetson-style in all-electric rotocopters that take-off and land vertically. However, one thing standing in the way of this science fiction future is the noise concerns surrounding these urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft.
Previous work has looked into the acoustic characteristics of various types of rotorcraft from liftoff and flight to rotor-rotor interactions. Sadegh et al. added to this discussion with a full numerical study of the aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of a six-passenger side-by-side (SbS) UAM aircraft near the ground.
The researchers developed a computational model to look at the interaction of the rotorcraft and the ground, basing their rotorcraft designs after a NASA model of a SbS UAM vehicle. Their models, of both a hovering and a cruising rotorcraft, were validated with experimental data and subsequently examined to determine the aeroacoustic and aerodynamic effects.
“The most exciting findings of this study were that the airframe design and rotor system
configuration have a high impact on the UAM aeroacoustic performance, especially in-ground effect conditions,” said author Hakjin Lee.
The results showed the importance of the fuselage on the UAM’s wake field as well as how it influenced the aerodynamic load on the rotor blades. The fuselage’s effect was more noticeable during landing due to an upwash of the wake.
“The results of this study provide valuable insights into the complex flow physics and noise characteristics of the SbS UAM aircraft in full configuration hovering above the ground,” Lee said. “The findings can be applied to develop advanced designs and operational guidelines for UAM vehicles to enhance their safety and acoustic comfort.”
Source: “Aeroacoustic investigation of side-by-side urban air mobility aircraft in full configuration with ground effect,” by M. Sadegh Araghizadeh, Bidesh Sengupta, Hakjin Lee, and Rho Shin Myong, Physics of Fluids (2024). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0221902 .
