On-field measurement for sUAS noise characterization

Abstract

With the imminent introduction of multi-rotor aircraft systems in airspace and the expectation of their operation near urban areas, noise emissions from this new type of noise sources have become an important research topic, mainly because they have been reported to be more annoying than other conventional urban noise sources(e.g., road vehicles) at the same loudness level. Specific techniques for adequately measuring sound produced by small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are currently being developed by international standardisation organisations, aviation agencies, and research institutions. All of these efforts are intended to be relevant in establishing common measurement protocols between environmental policymakers, stakeholders, drone companies, and academia.This paper presents a multichannel on-field methodology for the characterisation of sUAS noise. In addition to the measurement procedure, the methodology covers the back-propagation techniques applied in the analysis of each microphone recording, and preliminary results, which include acoustic metrics (L Amax , L Aeq and L AE ), directivity plots, and noise hemispheres during flyovers, presented in both the time and frequency domains.