Efficient Prediction of Turbulent Inflow and Leading-Edge Interaction Noise Using a Vortex Particle Method with Look-up Table Approach

Abstract

This paper presents a new, efficient approach for predicting turbulent inflow, also known as leading-edge interaction noise. The method combines a low-fidelity Vortex Particle Method (VPM) with a look-up table approach. Its goal is to reconstruct realistic inflow turbulence and airfoil contours using stochastic control variables within a limited vortex window. To model far-field sound emission, Curle’s equation and a vortex sound database are employed. To increase confidence in the methodology, an analysis of inflow turbulence parameters and source characteristics was performed using systematic Large Eddy Simulations (LES). A generic NACA 0012 airfoil test case with different inflow turbulence grids was used for direct comparisons with semi-theoretical and semi-empirical predictions from the literature. The comparison is restricted to Amiet/Gershfeld predictions as the current model is only capable of dealing with homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. However, their usefulness is limited to narrower parameter ranges when compared to the more generally applicable new method. A satisfactory agreement of the results demonstrates the versatility of the proposed method.