11:40
20 mins
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What to expect from limited-fidelity drone simulations: a noise perspective
Federico N. Ramírez, Jorge García-Tíscar, Roberto Navarro, Luis Miguel García-Cuevas
Abstract: Acoustic annoyance is one of the main barriers that may hinder the growth of unmanned aerial vehicles usage in urban areas. Employing reliable noise prediction tools during the early stages of drone design would overcome this issue. However, acoustic simulations for multicopter configurations span a wide range of modeling fidelities, and their respective accuracy–cost trade-offs are still not clearly understood by the community. This work provides a noise-oriented assessment of widely-used simulation methods for multicopter drones, with a particular focus on their predictive capabilities and inherent limitations.
We compare popular aerodynamic models for multirotor simulations, including Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT); Vortex Particle Method (VPM); and Finite Volume Method (FVM) with different turbulence formulations. These aerodynamic solvers are coupled with established aeroacoustic analogies, notably the Hanson model for tonal noise prediction and the Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings (FW-H) formulation for calculating far-field noise spectra.
Numerical predictions are compared against experimental measurements obtained in an anechoic chamber and in a low-turbulence wind tunnel, covering several flight conditions. Metrics of comparison include aerodynamic forces, aircraft performance indicators, overall sound pressure levels, spectral content and directivity patterns. Based on these findings, practical guidelines are proposed to help designers and researchers select appropriate simulation tools depending on the design phase, available resources, and acoustic metrics of interest.
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