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M. Snellen

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46 records found

Master thesis (2026) - G.C.J.O. Sa, Furkat Yunus, M. Snellen, R. Vos
Rising air travel demand has heightened concerns regarding aircraft noise and its potential health impacts on communities near airports, increasing interest in unconventional aircraft configurations for noise reduction. One such concept is the Flying V, which features an integrated V-shaped wing, with noise shielding expected due to the over-the-wing engine placement. This study evaluates the takeoff and landing noise performance of the FV-1000 compared with the Airbus A350-1000. Airframe and engine noise are predicted using semi-empirical methods, while engine shielding is modeled using Kirchhoff’s diffraction theory. Both aircraft follow identical flight profiles based on the A350-1000 procedures in the ANP database. The FV-1000 is assumed to maintain the same thrust-to-weight ratio as the A350-1000, leading to a lower required thrust, with net corrected thrust estimated using the empirical method outlined in ECAC Doc. 29.

Results show that engine noise dominates over airframe noise for the FV-1000 during both departure and approach. Reductions in both engine and airframe noise are observed compared with the A350-1000. Overall, the FV-1000 achieves flyover noise reductions of approximately 3.3 EPNdB during departure and 3.5 EPNdB during approach. Engine shielding provides up to approximately 15 dB of attenuation for forward-emitting noise around the inboard wing, with higher frequencies experiencing greater attenuation due to reduced diffraction. Minimal shielding occurs below and behind the aircraft, resulting in a distinct V-shaped noise attenuation pattern on the ground. ...
Current aircraft noise monitoring terminals often fail to detect aircraft in low-noise regions, where background noise levels are comparable to aircraft noise contributions. This thesis investigates Global Optimization (GO) using a 64-microphone array as an alternative to threshold-based detection and examines how the measured noise levels compare to ECAC Doc. 29 under these conditions. Localization was found most reliable between 100–1000 Hz, though elevation-angle estimates remained unreliable at low elevations. Newer and quieter aircraft types showed a significantly lower detection range compared to older and larger aircraft types during takeoff, while landings were consistently harder to detect. Comparison with ECAC Doc. 29 predictions showed reasonable agreement between 3500–5000 m for several aircraft types but underprediction beyond 6000 m, likely due to background noise in the measurements. Results suggest that GO-based methods can improve detection where aircraft might go undetected by current NMTs. ...
Aircraft noise reduction is required to mitigate the noise nuisance around airports. Blended wing body (BWB) designs promise lower noise emissions through their engine location. The aircraft design is characterized by its wing-fuselage integration, with both the wings and the fuselage acting as lifting bodies. Mounting engines on top of the fuselage reduces engine noise through shielding. Best-practice models make use of noise-power-distance tables to compute noise quickly for multiple events. These tables are generated using measurements obtained during noise certification procedures. This thesis aims to predict the noise-power-distance (NPD) tables for the REBEL-C blended wing body aircraft. The semi-empirical noise modeling program SOPRANO was used to develop a method to calculate NPD tables for conceptual aircraft. Good agreement was shown between NPD tables determined using measurements and SOPRANO for three conventional aircraft with an average root-mean-square error of 2.8 dBA or less for LAmax. Thrust settings of the REBEL-C were determined using the flight profile of the A320-214 reference aircraft and by assuming equal thrust-to-weight ratios. Attenuation resulting from the engine noise shielding model using Kirchhoff’s theory of diffraction was implemented into SOPRANO. The noise metrics of the REBEL-C show significant lower noise compared to an A320. Reductions of -6.3 to -21.8 dBA were seen for LAmax during departure. For approach, the differences are smaller due to the airframe dominance. Engine shielding reduces the engine noise of the BWB by such high levels for equal T/W ratios that the departure noise metrics are lower than the approach metrics. The methodology developed during this project looks promising to predict NPD tables for conceptual aircraft, although it is recommended to carefully consider the semi-empirical noise models that are used. ...
Master thesis (2026) - J.R.P. Ottens, R. Vos, M. Snellen, Furkat Yunus, S. Nolet, S.J. Heblij
Aviation faces increasing societal and regulatory pressure to reduce environmental impact, particularly noise in densely populated areas. Electric propulsion and Urban Air Mobility concepts aim to enable quieter flight. However, propeller generated aerodynamic noise remains a dominant contributor to the overall acoustic signature. Modelling broadband noise, associated with turbulent inflow and blade surface turbulence, is essential for realistic noise assessment.
This thesis develops a framework to evaluate broadband noise prediction models for (electrically driven) propellers in hover and forward flight. Two model are assessed: the classical Brooks, Pope, and Marcolini (BPM) model and the data-driven Gill and Lee (GL) model. Both are verified against literature and validated and compared using scaled hover experiments and full-scale flyover measurements.
Results show that the GL model performs well in hover but overpredicts noise in forward flight. The BPM model provides more consistent predictions across operating conditions. ...
A numerical investigation is performed to study the conversion of acoustic pressure into strain for a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) fiber immersed in fluid. COMSOL multiphysics software is used to link pressure acoustics with solid mechanics through the finite element method. The response of the fiber to an acoustic plane wave is found. By fully resolving the dynamic system, dependence on acoustic pressure instead of particle velocity is shown. Additionally, a high amplitude peak in the directional response is found and characterized, which adds further complexity to the transfer function. A preliminary investigation into the effect of coating material is conducted, and it is confirmed that aspects of the response can be mitigated or even controlled, while simultaneously boosting mechanical sensitivity. The physical mechanism responsible for redistribution of acoustic pressure into axial and transverse stresses is still being explored. The model is verified and acts as a robust tool for future investigation into the impact of coupling effects on DAS response. ...

Using ACMS data to more accurately predict noise levels at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

This paper investigates whether aircraft noise modeling can be improved by more accurately predicting the aircraft weight and thrust compared to the current methodology ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference) described in Doc. 29 (Document 29). Using ACMS (Aircraft Condition Monitoring System) data from multiple aircraft types, two new weight estimation methods are proposed for departures: a climb slope and distance based approach, and a specific-energy method. The MAPE (Mean Average Percentage Error) of the current stage length approach is compared to the newly proposed methods. For thrust estimation, departures during the initial take-off roll and climb out are modeled using weight-dependent interpolations of the FPPs (Fixed-Point Profiles). For the other parts of the departure process, median FPPs, for which boundaries are determined by a flight segmentation model, are used. Arrival thrust values are predicted using a random forest regression model trained on flight path angle, calibrated airspeed, and corrected net thrust. This random forest model accurately captures thrust peak magnitudes and locations for most flights. Noise contour plots are generated for an original Doc. 29 model, an ACMS Doc. 29 and a new weight and thrust Doc. 29 model. For the ACMS Doc. 29 model, the ACMS thrust and weight data is directly used as input data for the noise model. The new weight and thrust estimates reveal closer agreement with ACMS Doc. 29 contours than with the original Doc. 29 method. This result indicates the rigidity of the FPPs and outdated ANP (Aircraft Noise Performance) database entries contribute to current modeling inaccuracies. The results demonstrate that the incorporation of performance relationships can significantly improve the theoretical Doc. 29 model.
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Doctoral thesis (2026) - A. Altena, M. Snellen, G.C.H.E. de Croon, M. Voskuijl
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, offer advantages for many applications in society. Nevertheless, when they are operated outside safety regulations, they can pose an increasing threat, e.g., to critical infrastructure. Disruptions at both civil airports and military bases due to drone activities in their vicinity show the need for counter-drone systems. These systems should be able to localise and identify drones as early as possible and mitigate the threat in a timely manner.

The objective of this thesis is therefore to develop processing methods for microphone phased array data to localise and identify drones over an extended duration. Acoustic sensors are chosen as they are not yet investigated extensively, however they offer advantages such as their passive behavior, low cost and low weight. This dissertation shows a comparison between three acoustic localisation techniques: conventional frequency domain beamforming, differential evolution and sparse Bayesian learning. Furthermore, the challenge of localising multiple sound sources simultaneously, including different drones, is addressed. Lastly, the identification of the localised sound sources is discussed, where machine learning techniques are tested on their performance to correctly identify drones and other ambient sound sources. ...

Data-driven Multibeam Classification in the Dutch North Sea

Doctoral thesis (2026) - Q. Bai, D.G. Simons, M. Snellen
With increasing offshore human activities and accelerating climate change, regular seabed habitat monitoring is essential for marine conservation and sustainable coastal development. Compared to destructive bottom sampling that is labor-intensive and optical remote sensing with limited penetration in seawater, the multibeam echosounder (MBES) provides a cost-effective solution for high-resolution, large-scale seabed mapping by simultaneously acquiring bathymetry and acoustic backscatter. In recent years, multi-spectral MBES has become a state-of-the-art acoustic mapping technique, providing nearly co-located multi-frequency measurements and largely enriching seabed characterization. Despite difficulties in obtaining calibrated backscatter, data-driven methods, especially machine learning techniques, still allow for linking MBES measurements to seabed geophysical and biological properties.
Nevertheless, MBES-based benthic habitat mapping remains challenging. Limited seabed ground truth hinders model construction and evaluation. Lack of absolute calibration poses challenges when comparing or combining MBES backscatter across surveys. Backscatter angular dependency and large volume of multi-frequency measurements further complicate data processing. This thesis addresses these challenges by exploiting the multi-spectral MBES, making optimal use of limited ground truth, and improving the MBES data processing workflow.... ...

To validate and improve best-practice noise predictions

Doctoral thesis (2026) - R.C. Van der Grift, M. Snellen, A. Amiri Simkooei
Aviation continues to grow worldwide, bringing increasing challenges related to aircraft noise. Current noise assessments rely on best-practice models such as the European standard Document 29 (Doc 29) of the European Civil Aviation Conference, which is also used in the Netherlands. Given the strong dependence of airport policy and regulation on these models, their accuracy and reliability are essential. The objective of this thesis is therefore to improve the accuracy of the Doc 29 aircraft noise model using noise measurements collected around Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The NOMOS monitoring network, consisting of 41 Noise Monitoring Terminals (NMTs), provides the measurement basis for several validation and model-improvement studies described in this thesis.

Best-practice noise models use Noise-Power-Distance (NPD) tables, which provide noise levels as a function of engine power (thrust) and distance between aircraft and observer. Additional correction factors allow predictions under non-standard conditions. While computationally efficient, these methods rely on simplifying assumptions about aircraft operations, source noise characteristics, and propagation effects.

The first step of this research is to identify the challenges and limitations of current noise predictions and measurements. A comparison between annual noise metrics (Lden and Lnight) from Doc 29 and NOMOS data reveals noteworthy trends: Doc 29 generally underestimates Lden, but overestimates Lnight. Background noise and undetected flights were quantified and found to predominantly affect low-noise regions at greater distances from flight paths. This analysis also highlights the strong dependence of model accuracy on the correctness of aircraft performance input parameters.

To address this, a second research stage develops a method for accurately determining engine thrust for historic flights. Using either acoustically derived N1 values obtained from blade-passing frequencies or directly from onboard flight data, estimates of delivered thrust are reconstructed. Since Doc 29 requires corrected net thrust as input, conversion methods were evaluated. Simulations using the Gas turbine Simulation Program (GSP) provided the most accurate results. Based on these simulations, coefficients were derived and validated to reliably estimate thrust from N1 for use in standard best-practice formulas. Using this improved input, a validation study showed strong agreement between modelled and measured Sound Exposure Level (SEL) and LA,max, though residual discrepancies remained.

To investigate the limitations of the NPD tables, back-propagated measurements were used to derive thrust-noise relations. Results indicate that for departures, the existing NPD tables overestimate the thrust-noise dependency. New NPD tables were therefore constructed directly from measurements, fully independent of the existing database. Applying these calibrated NPD tables improved departure noise prediction accuracy by approximately 25%, independently verified with measurements from Oslo Airport.

This thesis also assessed the use of standardised source spectra to calculate weather-dependent corrections. Due to the simplified atmospheric assumptions, the absorption of sound during propagation is limitedly affected by the source spectra. The use of these source spectra is thus sufficient for this purpose.

A final step is to benchmark the Doc 29 model to an independent empirical model, sonAIR. With more complex noise source modelling and propagation algorithms, sonAIR showed improvement compared to the measurements, specifically at lower elevation angles and in low-noise regions.

Overall, this thesis contributes to the validation and improvement of best-practice aircraft noise models through detailed analysis of noise measurements around Schiphol Airport. While Doc 29 performs well for estimating average noise exposure, its simplified assumptions about source noise and propagation limit its ability to represent the full complexity of aircraft noise. The improvements developed in this research contribute toward more reliable and transparent noise assessments. ...
Master thesis (2025) - B. Blekemolen, M. Snellen, S. Luesutthiviboon
This report investigates how accurately drones can be tracked by measuring the noise they emit over time with a small microphone array; the ReSpeaker Mic Array v2.0. This acoustic localization is achieved by applying beamforming to select frequency ranges. In literature this localization has been achieved and accurately so, but the microphone arrays there are generally at least a meter in diameter with many microphones. The array used in this project is about 5 cm in diameter and contains only four microphones. It is therefore cheaper in cost and in terms of calculation time. The first experiment takes place in an anechoic chamber to compare the beamform output with reference values, specifying the expected elevation and azimuth angles. The output turns out to be fairly accurate, with an error of a couple of degrees. A second experiment is with indoor drone flights, where the reference location is only broadly known. The beamform output at high frequencies appears to be very accurate and the output at low frequencies is less accurate. This is expected due to the arrays small size which hinders beamforming at low frequencies but it is unfortunate as drones emit most of their noise at lower frequencies. The third experiment is with outdoor drone flights in the Unmanned Valley near Katwijk aan Zee. A 500 gram heavy Parrot Bebop 2 drone with three-bladed propellers can be localized up to a distance of 100m and a 907 gram heavy DJI Mavic 2 drone with two-bladed propellers can be localized up to a distance of 80m. Both with an error between GPS and beamform output of less than 10 degrees if beamforming is applied to a higher frequency range of 2-5kHz. This only applies if the array is placed at a 45-degree angle with the ground, which improves the beamforming accuracy. The application of functional beamforming did not improve the results of this experiment. ...

Improvements to closed test section wind tunnel experiments

Doctoral thesis (2025) - H.F. Mourão Bento, M. Snellen, D. Ragni, F. Avallone
The research in this thesis aims at improving aeroacoustic testing in acoustically disturbed environments, with particular focus on closed test section wind tunnels. Ideally, it should become possible to perform fully reliable aeroacoustic experimental campaigns without the need of anechoic open—jet facilities.

The investigation of wall cavities for microphone placement was done with Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations, which in turn were validated experimentally. Cavities covered with a mesh cover were investigated, since previous literature shows that these reduce hydrodynamic noise while allowing for the transmission of waves to the microphones. The numerical simulations show that covering microphone cavities with a mesh cover results in a stagnant flow inside the cavities. As consequence, the only source of pressure fluctuations at the cavity bottoms are acoustic waves. The hydrodynamic pressure fluctuations from the wall’s boundary layer still propagate acoustically to the cavity bottoms. The findings show that increasing cavity size, by increasing the cavity opening diameter with respect to the length of the eddies in the turbulent boundary layer, leads to a lower propagation of spurious pressure fluctuations to the cavity bottoms. This in turn leads to an increased signal to noise ratio of acoustic measurements recorded at closed test section wind tunnels.

Wind tunnel wall liners have been characterized based on their viscous resistivity, inertial resistivity and roughness. Several porous liners have been tested experimentally. The aim was to analyze their impact on the aerodynamic properties of the wind tunnel boundary layer, on the generation of spurious noise, and on the absorption of acoustic reflections. The results show that the ideal choice of liner consists of a liner: with high viscous resistivity, which leads to high acoustic absorption; with low roughness, to reduce the impact on the wind tunnel wall’s boundary layer; and with low inertial resistivity, to reduce the generation of spurious noise. The best lining material tested was melamine foam.

The acoustic propagation and acoustic interference in a closed wind tunnel test section were predicted with a FEM acoustic solver. The propagation was modelled on a baseline test section, with fully reflective walls, and on test sections with lined walls. The numerical results were found to give a very accurate prediction of the acoustic experimental tests. It was possible to use the numerical results to improve the post—processing of experimental data. The Green’s function used to process experimental microphone data with beamforming was corrected, using the numerical results. Beamforming with the Green’s function corrected for the acoustically disturbed environment led to a higher beamforming spatial resolution. In addition, the estimated noise levels are more accurate when the correction is used. This improved approach was shown to work for post—processing experimental measurements of a monopole sound source placed at the center of the test section, with and without free—stream flow.
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Unravelling its dynamics and sea-level contributions

Doctoral thesis (2025) - L.M. Keyzer, J.D. Pietrzak, M. Snellen, C.A. Katsman
River plumes form when freshwater from rivers enters the salty ocean, creating buoyant water masses that strongly influence coastal circulation. By transporting freshwater, heat, nutrients, sediments and pollutants, they impact the ocean dynamics and ecosystems on local (10-100 km) and even (beyond) regional scales (>1000 km), depending on the size and dynamics of the plume. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of the Rhine River plume and its interactions with sea-level variations. The Rhine plume, located along the Dutch coast in the Southern North Sea, is highly dynamic system, influenced by tides and winds.
Chapter 2 investigates the variability of the wind-driven response of the Rhine River plume using numerical model simulations of a spring-neap cycle forced by idealized wind conditions. The difference in wind-driven response between spring and neap tide shows how the competition between straining and mixing, both induced by tides and winds, determines the structure and evolution of the Rhine River plume.
Chapter 3 examines the plume’s effect on sea-level variability along the Dutch coast by comparing barotropic and baroclinic model simulations. The Rhine plume induces a positive steric height anomaly, elevating the mean sea level along the coast and modulating the tidal signal near the river mouth. This highlights the need to include river plumes in sea-level studies.
In Chapters 4 and 5, an innovative method is developed for estimating sound speed profiles from multibeam echosounder measurements. The inversion method is based on minimizing the discrepancies between overlapping swaths and exploits empirical orthogonal functions to describe sound speed profiles using a limited number of unknowns. Since sound speed is influenced by depth, temperature, and salinity, this proof-of-concept provides a way to offer valuable insights into the vertical structure of the water column using routinely collected data.
Overall, this thesis advances our understanding of the Rhine River plume and its contribution to sea-level variability. In addition, the development of a proof-of-concept for retrieving sound speed profiles from multibeam echosounder measurements offers a promising approach to provide valuable information on stratification in river plumes. Together, these contributions support improved modelling and understanding of coastal oceans, particularly river plumes, which will become more and more important, especially in the face of climate change and its impact on coastal regions. ...

Identifying noise sources and validating noise prediction models

Doctoral thesis (2025) - B. von den Hoff, M. Snellen, D.G. Simons
Sustainable aviation is achieved when the negative impact of aviation on people, planet, and profit is minimised. Aviation impacts people through the noise it produces. Exposure to high noise levels for prolonged periods of time can lead to sleeping disorders, hypertension, and hearing issues. Therefore, the new generation of aircraft should be designed such that the noise emissions are reduced. Additionally, reducing noise annoyance is important as the human perception of aircraft noise is not only influenced by sound pressure levels.

Reducing the noise emissions and annoyance is only possible when the noise sources of an aircraft are known and can be predicted accurately during the design process. The objective of this dissertation is therefore to improve aircraft noise prediction models that can be used for reducing noise emissions and noise annoyance in the design process. This is specifically applied to currently operational sustainable aviation systems. ...
This report discusses urban air quality measurements carried out in a park in Aigaleo (Athens), located adjacent to a busy road. The measurements were taken using the Sniffer4D Mini 2 sensor box with a drone to investigate how Urban Air Mobility can aid in measuring urban air quality. CO, NO2, O3, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were recorded through point measurements at varying locations, altitudes and times. Several validation measurements were carried out, showing that temperature heavily influenced the outcome of the recordings. Due to the high number of variables, no conclusion has been found on the wind effect. During rush hour, NO2 and CO concentrations were highest close to the traffic; however, NO2 concentration showed non-linear behaviour with increase in altitude when further from the traffic or out of rush hour. SO2 concentration always decreased with an increase in altitude; highest concentrations were observed further from the busy road. Highest O3 concentrations were obtained in the afternoon at higher altitudes, due to its reaction under sunlight. PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations had a high variability due to environmental conditions. Additionally, continuous measurements were carried out, in which the drone flew a path through several locations and altitudes. The results from these were interpolated to enable the detection of areas with higher concentrations of air pollutants. ...
Addressing the increasingly urgent need for sustainable aviation solutions, this study explores operational innovations as a quicker and more scalable addition to novel zero-emission propulsion systems. Through the use of regression-based causal inference methods, this study aims to understand the relationship between flight fuelburn inefficiency and the factors causing these inefficiencies. Such an approach allows for the attribution of inefficiencies to factors on an overall scale, requiring less specific domain knowledge for initial results. A case study, involving a sample of 100,000 flights, representative of European operations, reveals that airspace structure (3.2% increase in inefficiency) and turbulence along the flight plan (2.5% increase) are the leading causes, while variations in average airspeed, congestion, and crosswind contribute the least to flight inefficiency. A compilation of the results shows that the performed analysis leaves 61% of the observed flight inefficiency unaccounted for. Future work would include the exploration of different metrics even closer to actual climate and air quality effects, as well as detailed uncertainty quantification. The developed flight inefficiency prediction model allows experimentation with counterfactual scenarios, contributing to the global transition towards more sustainable air transport networks. ...
Global passenger air traffic has doubled in the 13 years prior to 2019, and is expected to double again over the next 20 years or so. Growing demand for aviation is met by a corresponding increase in jet fuel being burned by aircraft, releasing multiple pollutants into the atmosphere. Besides disturbing the Earth’s radiative balance, these emissions also lead to excessive deposition of reactive nitrogen, and to a degradation of air quality. Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition damages vulnerable ecosystems, while degraded air quality is associated with increases in human mortality rates. These last two environmental impacts can be very localized, but, owing to the high altitude of emissions, they also occur over intercontinental distances. This thesis aims to evaluate the magnitude of air quality and nitrogen deposition due to emissions from civil fixed-wing aircraft at a global scale, and how these impacts might change in the coming decades. ...
Ammonia shows great potential for decarbonizing the road transportation sector because it does not produce CO2 emissions during combustion. On the other hand, ammonia-fueled engines emit gases such as (unburned) ammonia (NH3), and nitrogen oxides (NO)x, which contribute to air pollution and adversely impact human health, among other environmental effects. The aim of this work is to investigate the air quality impacts and human health trade-offs associated with potential emissions from an ammonia-fueled road transportation fleet of different vehicle categories. Specifically, we create a simplified emissions tool to quantify the NH3 and NOx spatial emissions from state-of-the-art ammonia engine developments. Next, the emissions are combined with spatial sensitivities, obtained from the adjoint of GEOS-Chem, to estimate the corresponding air quality impacts in terms of PM2.5 formation and human health impacts with respect to premature mortalities.
The research findings indicate that the ammonia-fueled sector generally exhibits higher air quality and human health impacts compared to conventional transport. We estimate that the implementation of various ammonia engine configurations into the road transportation fleet in the USA in 2011 could lead to approximately 23 000 to 250 000 premature mortalities.
However, there is potential for mitigating air quality impacts of ammonia emissions through the use of post-combustion treatment methods or the adoption of ammonia-fueled heavy-duty vehicles. These approaches could help achieve air pollution levels comparable to those of fossil fuel vehicles while reducing the carbon footprint, offering future possibilities for an ammonia-fueled road transportation sector. ...
Aircraft noise is a significant problem for communities surrounding airports. Accurate prediction models are needed to estimate noise levels from aircraft operations. In this research, the accuracy of the sonAIR aircraft noise model is evaluated in predicting noise levels around Schiphol airport by comparison to measurement data from NOMOS and the current best-practice modelling approach Doc29. Results show a significant but consistent underestimation of noise levels by sonAIR, mainly due to a generalisation of emission models. The standard deviation of differences between model results and measurements is lower for sonAIR than for Doc29 by up to 1 dB. Differences between measurement and model results were found in the relation between N1 and noise levels, maximum noise levels and frequency spectra. These results demonstrate that sonAIR provides more reliable predictions of noise levels on the single flight event level than Doc29. Additionally, this study shows agreement with results from a previous validation study in Zürich, thereby confirming the applicability of sonAIR to another airport. This research contributes to better aircraft noise predictions, which will have implications ultimately leading to a better quality of life for communities affected by aircraft noise. ...
Master thesis (2023) - C.N.M. Bononi Bello, M. Snellen, F. Yin, E.J.J. Smeur, S. Heblij, W de Haan
With the ever-increasing demand of air travel from before the pandemic expected to return, the world’s concern of environment-related issues linked to aviation has also increased. With these issues becoming progressively important, it is not surprising that the propeller, with generally a superior efficiency over the jet engine, has regained the interest of the aviation sector. Among the various concepts being explored, one particular propeller configuration stood out as promising: the distributed electric propulsion (DEP) configuration. While DEP configurations have the potential to revolutionise aircraft designs and their performance, there are still several technological and operational challenges that must be addressed before these configurations start roaming the skies. One of the research areas that still needs to be explored, for example, is the noise pollution caused by a DEP aircraft, and consequently the impact it has on society. For that reason, the development of a noise prediction model of a DEP aircraft is introduced in this paper. Acoustic results are presented for Maeve-01, a DEP concept aircraft designed by Dutch startup Maeve Aerospace 1. The DEP model solely focuses on tonal propeller noise generated by steady blade loading and propeller rotation; i.e., broadband sources and unsteady loading noise are disregarded in this study. The tonal noise signatures of an isolated propeller are computed with a model that uses the Helicoidal Surface Theory to predict the source noise. Subsequently, the individual source noises are superimposed at observers in the far field by applying digital processing steps to incorporate spherical spreading, the Doppler effect, atmospheric absorption and phase lags to include the interference effects between propellers. The DEP model is verified both using a more computational intensive model (developed by NLR) for the isolated propeller signatures, and by predicting the directivity patterns of two monopole sources along the axis over the wing span to model the source field of two interfering propellers. For the validation of the DEP model, real-life flyover experiments have been performed with a small drone with four propellers, combined with a comparison with literature data. ...