Aeroacoustic Testing of Wind Turbine Airfoils: February 20, 2004 - February 19, 2008

摘要

The aeroacoustic noise produced by wind turbines is a significant environmental factor affecting their deployment and operation. Quieter wind turbines can be sited closer to population centers where their power is needed, and can be deployed in greater numbers in such locations. Making such turbines requires not only better physical understanding of the sources and mechanisms of noise production, but also the development of an experimental database of measurements that allows designers to balance aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance when selecting an airfoil. Additionally, the measurements can be used to improve and validate aeroacoustic prediction methods. One of the principal hurdles in initiating and expanding such a database is the lack of aerodynamic and acoustic data at realistic Reynolds numbers. The Advanced Turbulent Flow Research Group and the Vibrations and Acoustics Laboratories of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) undertook an extensive aerodynamic and acoustic experimental study of three wind turbine airfoils (0.914-m chord) provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).