Psychoacoustic modelling of rotor noise

Torija, Antonio J.; Li, Zhengguang; Chaitanya, Paruchuri

Abstract

The aviation sector is rapidly evolving with more electric propulsion systems and a variety of new technologies of vertical take-off and landing manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. Community noise impact is one of the main barriers for the wider adoption of these new vehicles. Within the framework of a perception-driven engineering approach, this paper investigates the relationship between sound quality and first order physical parameters in rotor systems to aid design. Three case studies are considered: (i) contra-rotating versus single rotor systems, (ii) varying blade diameter and thrust in both contra-rotating and single rotor systems, and (iii) varying rotor–rotor axial spacing in contra-rotating systems. The outcomes of a listening experiment, where participants assessed a series of sound stimuli with varying design parameters, allow a better understanding of the annoyance induced by rotor noise. Further to this, a psychoacoustic annoyance model optimised for rotor noise has been formulated. The model includes a novel psychoacoustic function to account for the perceptual effect of impulsiveness. The significance of the proposed model lies in the quantification of the effects of psychoacoustic factors, such as loudness as the dominant factor, and also tonality, high frequency content, temporal fluctuations, and impulsiveness on rotor noise annoyance.

Citation

Torija, A. J., Li, Z., & Chaitanya, P. (2022). Psychoacoustic modelling of rotor noise. ˜The œJournal of the Acoustical Society of America (Online), 151(3), 1804-1815. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009801

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 26, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Mar 17, 2022
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 17, 2022
• Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
• Print ISSN: 0001-4966
• Volume: 151
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 1804-1815
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009801
• Keywords: Acoustics and Ultrasonics, Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0009801
• Related Public URLs: http://asa.scitation.org/journal/jas
• Additional Information: Access Information : Copyright (2022) Acoustical Society of America. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the Acoustical Society of America; Projects : Integrated Flight Control Energy Storage and Propulsion Technologies for Electric Aircraft (INCEPTION); Grant Number: 73692; Grant Number: RF/201819/18/194