AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Abstract

New electric airplanes are being developed are part of a new mode of transportation called Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Noise is an important barrier for community acceptance of UAM vehicles. We will review the basic mechanisms for UAM noise generation, i.e. impulsive (due to the rotorʼs rotation and aerodynamic interactions) and broadband noise (interactions due to turbulence). Compared to conventional helicopters, the lower tip Mach numbers associated with UAM vehicles change the relative importance of these sources. In addition, UAM vehicles are equipped with multi-rotors, which add aerodynamic interactions that complicate the physics. Nevertheless, multi-rotors offer different possibilities to lower the noise, e.g., phasing and rotation direction. Furthermore, there is a large variety of UAM vehicle configurations, which suggests further problems as well as offers new possibilities. Finally, we will discuss the effect of the
effect of urban environment which is the focus of our current NASA ULI project.

Speaker

Dr. Anastasios Lyrintzis

He is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has co-authored more than 200 papers and advised or co-advised 22 Ph.D. students. His primary research interests are in the area of aerodynamics with an emphasis on numerical methods and applications in aeroacoustics. His research endeavors have been supported by NSF, NASA, ARO, the US Navy, and other agencies and industries. He is an AIAA Fellow, an ASME Fellow, and a Boeing Welliver Fellow. He has been a member of the AIAA Aeroacoustics Technical Committee (vice-chair 05-07, Chair 07-09), the VFS Acoustics Committee, the ASME Coordinating Group for CFD and ADCA (Aerospace Department Chair Association, Chair 2015-17). He has co-organized the 10th (2004) and the 23rd AIAA/CEAS (2017) Aeroacoustics Conferences, as well as many Sessions and Forums in AIAA, ASME, and VFS Conferences and he has been an Associate Editor for the AIAA Journal and the International Journal of Aeroacoustics.