Random particle methods applied to broadband fan interaction noise

Predicting broadband fan noise is key to reduce noise emissions from aircraft and wind turbines. Complete CFD simulations of broadband fan noise generation remain too expensive to be used routinely for engineering design. A more efficient approach consists in synthesizing a turbulent velocity field that captures the main features of the exact solution. This synthetic turbulence is then used in a noise source model. This paper concentrates on predicting broadband fan noise interaction (also called leading edge noise) and demonstrates that a random particle mesh method (RPM) is well suited for simulating this source mechanism. The linearized Euler equations are used to describe sound generation and propagation. In this work, the definition of the filter kernel is generalized to include non-Gaussian filters that can directly follow more realistic energy spectra such as the ones developed by Liepmann and von Kármán. The velocity correlation and energy spectrum of the turbulence are found to be well captured by the RPM. The acoustic predictions are successfully validated against Amiet’s analytical solution for a flat plate in a turbulent stream. A standard Langevin equation is used to model temporal decorrelation, but the presence of numerical issues leads to the introduction and validation of a second-order Langevin model.