Polyoptimisation of the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance of aerofoils with serrated leading edges

Abstract

Recent research confirmed leading edge serrations to be an effective passive noise reduction treatment for aerofoil broadband noise at high-turbulent inflow conditions. Therefore, reducing leading edge broadband noise while maintaining acceptable aerodynamic aerofoil performance represents a pressing task for future applications. In this context, an extensive aeroacoustic study, analysing a NACA65(12)-10 aerofoil, was continued towards defining an aeroacoustic optimum between aerofoil noise radiation and noise reduction due to serrated leading edges in order to provide ideal design parameters for low-noise serrations. On this basis, part of the aeroacoustically analysed experimental space was extracted and analysed in terms of aerodynamic performance parameters, defined by lift and drag coefficients. This was carried out both, numerically and experimentally. The main parameters of interest were a variation of the Reynolds number, the angle of attack and the serration design parameters, namely the serration amplitude and the serration wavelength. The aerodynamic study showed a good match between experimental and numerical results in the pre-stall regime. Slight deviations occurred in a precise determination of the stall-angle and the maximum lift coefficients which mainly could be assigned to differing boundary conditions. However, for the serrations slight improvements of the maximum pre-stall angles as well as high post-stall lift coefficients were observed, which could be linked to specific separation pattern on the aerofoil suction side. An increase of the serration wavelength showed an increased lift performance, which could not be linked solely to a change in the aerofoils surface. Combining aeroacoustic and aerodynamic results showed that the aerodynamic trends towards a maximum lift performance compete aeroacoustic maximum-performance findings. Finally, defining a polyoptimum of the multi-parameter system in terms of maximum noise reduction effects while maintaining an acceptable aerodynamic performance provides a deepened insight into the relations between aerodynamics and aeroacoustics, where the presented data pool might give assistance for future design processes.