Turbulence distortion due to airfoil finite thickness is an important but not fully understood phenomenon that affects the airfoil radiated noise, resulting in inaccurate noise predictions. This study discusses the turbulence distortion in the leading edge (LE) region of an airfoil aiming to obtain more accurate LE noise predictions. Wind tunnel experiments were performed for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 0008 and NACA 0012 airfoils at zero angle of attack subjected to large turbulence length scales (between 10 and 43 times the airfoil LE radius) generated by a grid and a rod. Hot-wire and surface pressure measurements were performed in the LE region. Results show that the root mean square of the velocity fluctuations [Formula: see text] and the turbulence integral length scale [Formula: see text] at the stagnation line decrease considerably as the LE is approached. Rod–airfoil radiated noise was measured and compared with Amiet's model. The predicted noise overestimates the LE noise for high frequencies. However, the prediction agrees well with measurements when the turbulence spectrum based on the rapid distortion theory is used in Amiet's model, with as inputs the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] values measured close to the LE. This work's main contribution is to demonstrate that more accurate noise predictions are obtained when the inputs to the model consider the turbulence distortion effects.
Open-jet, hard-wall, and hybrid test section configurations are typically used in wind tunnel tests, aiming to represent the ideal free-flight condition. Each test section type requires special adaptations of the experimental hardware and specific correction methodologies that account for systematic measurement errors. Differently from previous research, this paper investigates the comparability of measurements performed in three test section configurations in the same wind tunnel. With this approach, systematic errors related to the facility or boundarylayer tripping methodology are minimized. Basic 2D aerodynamic boundary corrections are evaluated using a DU97W300 airfoil. The corrected lift curve collapsed well while differences in stall behavior and C p distribution at larger angles of attack are nonnegligible. The trailing-edge noise produced by a NACA-0012, NACA-0018, and NACA-63018 served as reference aeroacoustic sources in this comparability analysis. Moreover, the noise reduction from trailing-edge serrations served as an additional reference for the comparability of relative noise levels. The chord-based Reynolds number of the experiments ranged from 260,000 to 660,000. Unsteady wall pressure measurements performed near the trailing-edge provided a reference for the aeroacoustic noise source terms, demonstrating a negligible change between the different test section types. The applied experimental hardware and acoustic corrections yielded aeroacoustic sources of comparable absolute far-field noise level in the three test section types within 1 − 3 dB. The relative noise levels are comparable within 1 − 3 dB. These results show that aeroacoustic measurements of trailing-edge noise performed in different test section configurations are equivalent, provided that adequate experimental and postprocessing methodologies are systematically implemented.
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