Aeroacoustic Interactions in Turbulent Flows
Summary
Turbulent flows impinging on solid surfaces generate aerodynamic noise through complex interactions between unsteady pressure fluctuations and the surrounding medium. Fundamental descriptions rely on aeroacoustic analogies, which decompose the sound field into sources such as dipoles—associated with surface stresses—and quadrupoles arising from distributed turbulence. In practical systems, from aerofoils and wind-turbine blades to turbomachinery and unmanned aerial vehicles, these mechanisms govern broadband and low-frequency noise. Recent advances have combined theoretical models, high-fidelity simulations and laboratory measurements to reveal the role of turbulence coherence, anisotropy and distortion by finite-thickness leading edges. Such studies inform passive and active mitigation strategies, including porous and compliant treatments, optimised blade geometries and control of incoming eddy scales. Understanding these interactions remains central to reducing environmental impact, improving aerodynamic performance and guiding design across aviation and renewable-energy technologies.
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Aeroacoustic Interactions in Turbulent Flows publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in aeroacoustic interactions in turbulent flows across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Aeroacoustic analogy: A theoretical framework that relates unsteady flow quantities to sound generation and propagation.
Dipole source: Acoustic source arising from fluctuating surface forces, dominant in turbulence–body interactions.
Quadrupole source: Sound source associated with volumetric turbulence stresses in free flow.
Integral length scale: A measure of the size of the largest energy-containing eddies in turbulent flow.
Anisotropic turbulence: Turbulence exhibiting direction-dependent statistics, affecting noise scattering at leading edges.
Large eddy simulation (LES): A computational method that resolves large turbulent structures while modelling smaller scales.
Porosity: The ratio of void space in a material, used in passive noise-control treatments at solid surfaces.
References
- A thorough experimental investigation on airfoil turbulence interaction noise. Physics of Fluids (2023).
- A mathematical model for the interaction of anisotropic turbulence with a rigid leading edge. Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2023).
- Inflow turbulence distortion for airfoil leading-edge noise prediction for large turbulence length scales for zero-mean loading. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (2023).
- Acoustic scattering by cascades with complex boundary conditions: compliance, porosity and impedance. Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2020).
- The role of porous structure on airfoil turbulence interaction noise reduction. Physics of Fluids (2024).
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