Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Notation
- 3 Hover
- 4 Vertical Flight
- 5 Forward Flight Wake
- 6 Forward Flight
- 7 Performance
- 8 Design
- 9 Wings and Wakes
- 10 Unsteady Aerodynamics
- 11 Actuator Disk
- 12 Stall
- 13 Computational Aerodynamics
- 14 Noise
- 15 Mathematics of Rotating Systems
- 16 Blade Motion
- 17 Beam Theory
- 18 Dynamics
- 19 Flap Motion
- 20 Stability
- 21 Flight Dynamics
- 22 Comprehensive Analysis
- Index
- References
14 - Noise
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2013
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Notation
- 3 Hover
- 4 Vertical Flight
- 5 Forward Flight Wake
- 6 Forward Flight
- 7 Performance
- 8 Design
- 9 Wings and Wakes
- 10 Unsteady Aerodynamics
- 11 Actuator Disk
- 12 Stall
- 13 Computational Aerodynamics
- 14 Noise
- 15 Mathematics of Rotating Systems
- 16 Blade Motion
- 17 Beam Theory
- 18 Dynamics
- 19 Flap Motion
- 20 Stability
- 21 Flight Dynamics
- 22 Comprehensive Analysis
- Index
- References
Summary
Helicopter Rotor Noise
The helicopter is the quietest VTOL aircraft, but its noise level can still be high enough to compromise its utility unless specific attention is given to designing for low noise. As the restrictions on aircraft noise increase, the rotor noise becomes an increasingly important factor in helicopter design. The complex aerodynamics of rotors lead to a number of significant noise mechanisms. Helicopter rotor noise tends to be concentrated at harmonics of the blade passage frequency NΩ, because of the periodic nature of the rotor as seen in the non-rotating frame. There is sound radiated because the mean thrust and drag forces rotate with the blades and because of the higher harmonic loading as well. The spectral lines are broadened at the higher harmonics because of the random character of the rotor flow, particularly variations in the wake-induced loads. The acoustic pressure signal is basically periodic in time (the period is 2π/NΩ), with sharp impulses due to localized aerodynamic phenomena such as compressibility effects and vortex-induced loads. Figure 14.1 illustrates the spectrum of rotor-generated sound. The contributions to helicopter rotor noise can be classified as vortex or broadband noise, rotational noise, and impulsive noise or blade slap. Although the distinction between these types of rotor noise is not as sharp as was once thought, the classification remains useful for purposes of exposition. Cox (1973), Burton, Schlinker, and Shenoy (1985), and Brentner and Farassat (1994, 2003) have presented summaries of helicopter rotor noise mechanisms and analysis.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Rotorcraft Aeromechanics , pp. 493 - 544Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013
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