FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES

Noise reduction techniques in gas turbines

FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES

1. Introduction
According to a study on noise pollution, children can be physically effected by aircraft noise exposure: ‘Chronic aircraft noise exposure to children impairs reading
comprehension and long-term memory and may be associated with raised blood pressure’ (Stansfeld & Matheson, 2003). Residents close to airports are gaining
increasing influence in the western world, and airports are now subject to noise pollution requirements that often stop them from growing. However, passenger
and cargo traffic is growing at an average rate of 5% worldwide each year (Boeing, 2015). This makes noise restriction a hot topic. One cause of flight noise
pollution is gas turbines. Especially during take-off and landing most noise comes from the engines. But what exactly are engine manufacturers doing to reduce
this noise?

The aim of this factsheet is to describe noise reduction techniques in gas turbines. It starts with a description of the current generation of gas turbines, along
with a short explanation of how they work and which ones are currently used. Noise-producing components are then illustrated, followed by an explanation of
techniques used to minimize their noise. Finally, noise-reduction techniques of the future will be explained.

2. Current generation gas turbines

The high bypass ratio turbofan (turbofan, for short), is currently the most
widely-used gas turbine in aviation. The GE90 (Boeing 777), the PW1000
(Airbus 320 NEO), and the TRENT1000 (Boeing 787) are examples of ordinary
turbofans. All turbofans consist of a core engine and a bypass, as depicted in
Figure 1.
The core engine consists of an inlet, a fan, a compressor, a combustor, a
turbine and an exhaust. The bypass consists of an inlet, a fan, a stator and an
exhaust.
These turbofans are characterized by their bypass ratio, which is equal to the
airflow through the fan divided by the airflow through the core engine. The
bypass ratios of the current generation gas turbines are between eight and
twelve. In some flight phases, approximately 80% of the total thrust is
generated by the bypass airflow.

Figure 2 contains a graph that shows the decrease in aircraft engine noise
pollution over the years – the result of air traffic growth and the growing
importance of noise impact on the community (Huff, 2007).

Figure 1: Turbofan buildup (Huff, 2007)

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Figure 2: Progress in aircraft noise reduction (Huff, 2007)
3. Noise sources
Engine noise is generated by all engine sections: the fan, the compressor, the
combustor, the turbine and the exhaust – also referred to as the jet (Huff,
2007). The main focus of this factsheet is on noise generated by the fan and
the exhaust. Most noise reduction techniques are applied on these two
modules, since they generate most of the noise.
Figure 3: Turbofan engine with major noise components and their directions
shows a graphical representation of noise emission.
Figure 3: Turbofan engine with major noise components and their directions (Allen, 2012)
3.1. Fan Noise
Sound is produced by distortion – such as pressure fluctuation – in an elastic
medium. A fan system will produce sounds with tonal characteristics and
broadband characteristics (Acoustic Glossary, n.d.):
Tonal sound: a sound or noise recognizable by its regularity. A simple or
pure tone – a musical note, for example – has one frequency.
Broadband sound: noise whose energy is distributed over a wide section
of the audible range, such as noise coming from wind.
Because these two sound types are generated differently, a separate
discussion will be provided for each of them.
3.1.1. Tonal Noise
Tonal noise is generated when there is an interactive effect between airflow
distortions in the path of a rotating blade. Most frequently, these
interactions involve pressure fields or turbulent-wake disturbances.
A discrete tone, propagated to the far-field, is generated by an almost
identical pressure field. This pressure field is associated with each blade on
a single rotating stage. The propagation to the far-field occurs when a signal
is recognized as a sound-wave. Usually this sound-wave is a wavelength to
where the sound pressure and the particle velocity are in phase.
At subsonic conditions, when no shock pattern exists, the cyclic pressure
field and wake interactions between rotating and stationary stages are the
source of discrete tones. If the stages are close together, there is generally
an intense pressure-field interaction and a very strong tone generation (see
Figure 4).
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FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES
Figure 4: Mechanisms of tonal sound generation in a compressor stage (Smith, 1989).
3.1.2. Broadband Noise
Broadband noise results from the propagation of sound produced near the
surface of the blade as a result of pressure fluctuations associated with
turbulent flow in the vicinity.
In the first stage of the compressor – or the fan in a turbofan engine –
broadband noise is generated by the movement of the tip of the rotating
blade within the turbulent boundary layer close to the wall of the inlet duct.
Turbulence in the wakes shed by fan blades (see Figure 5) is also an
important source of broadband noise, particularly for fan blades with large
surface areas. It plays a significant role in the generation of broadband noise
in the downstream stages of the turbomachine. In a modern single-stage fan,
these are the outlet stators in the bypass duct and the multistage core
compressor. (Smith, 1989)
Figure 5: Generation of broadband noise
3.2. Jet Noise (only broadband noise)
Jet noise covers the sources associated with the mixing process of the
exhaust flow into the atmosphere. For aircraft flying below the speed of
sound, the mixing noise (also referred to as turbulent mixing noise) is the
only noise source coming from the exhaust (Smith, 1989).
Turbulent mixing noise is generated by high velocity exhaust flow that
pushes against a stable and static atmosphere. Since this high-speed flow is
moving through a stationary medium, friction – and therefore sound – will
occur. Turbulent mixing noise is basically composed of two contributions
associated with large turbulence (large-scale eddies) and with small scale
turbulence (small-scale eddies) developing in the shear layers of the jet flow
(see Figure 6). The small-scale eddies and the large-eddies produce high and
low-frequency sounds respectively (Bailly, Bogey, Marsden, & Castelain,
2014).
Figure 6: Origin of shock and mixing noise components of jet noise spectrum (Kala, 2012)
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FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES

4. Noise reduction techniques

The techniques used for noise reduction in gas turbines reduce fan noise and
jet noise. The new generation gas turbines mainly cope with broadband
noise rather than tones.

4.1 Fan Noise

Fan noise is lowered by reducing the rotational tip speed of the rotor blades
or reducing the fan pressure ratio. This causes the engine diameter to
increase in order to achieve the same thrust production. The best fan tip Figure 7: Ultra-high bypass ratio engine including scarf inlet (Enoval, 2014)
speed is just below the speed of sound. Once this has been achieved in an
engine design, the fan pressure ratio becomes the controlling factor for 4.1.3. Active Noise Control
reducing (broadband) noise. Techniques for reducing fan noise are: the Active noise control (see Figure 8) is used in aviation gas turbine fans, called
UHBR engine, scarf inlets, active noise control, forward swept fans, swept the Active Noise Control Fan (ANCF). An actuator in the fan duct walls and
and leaned stators, variable area fan nozzles, fan trailing edge blowing, soft inside the stator vanes captures the tones of a fan and directly send a 180
stator vanes, and acoustic treatment (Huff, 2007). degree shifted tone back (anti-noise) to cancel out the noise source (Huff,
2007).
4.1.1 Ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR)
The ultra-high bypass ratio engine is an engine with an ultra-high bypass, as
depicted in
Figure 7. Compared with a bypass ratio engine, the nacelles of an UHBR
engine are considerably reduced in length and volume. By decreasing the
bypass nacelles of the turbofan, noise is lowered through a reduction in the
rotational tip speed of the fan blades and a reduction in the fan pressure
ratio. By decreasing the diameter, the UHBR solution is the most effective
and easiest way to reduce noise. The other main advantage of the UHBR
engine is that it increases sustainability in an efficient way (Huff, 2007). Figure 8: Active noise control (Wikipedia, 2016)

4.1.2 Scarf inlets 4.1.4. Forward swept fans

Scarf inlets reduce fan noise by redirecting the forward-radiated sound –
both tones and broadband noise – away from the community (upwards), as
depicted in Figure 7. Scarf inlets also have aerodynamic advantages (Huff,
2007).
Forward swept fans, also called forward swept fan tip blades (see Figure 9)
mainly reduce aerodynamic losses associated with shocks and improve stall
margin. By reducing the opportunity of shocks, noises associated with these
shocks are eliminated by delaying the onset of multiple pure tones (Huff,
2007).

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FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES
Figure 9: Forward swept fans (Huff, 2007)
4.1.5. Swept and leaned stators
Swept and leaned stators are depicted in Figure 10. They reduce fan noise by
increasing the phase changes from root to tip – and the effective distance
from the fan to the stator vanes (both producing the sound). Increasing the
effective distance and phase changes creates less turbulence. Swept and
leaned stators reduce broadband noise as well as tones. Unfortunately swept
and leaned stator blades have additional aerodynamic performance losses,
resulting in a trade-off between noise reduction and performance (Huff,
2007).
Figure 10: Swept and leaned stators (Huff, 2007)
4.1.6. Variable area fan nozzles
A variable area fan nozzle is a moving mechanism that can increase and
decrease the area of the fan nozzle. Controlling the incidence angle of the
flow (as depicted in Figure 11) reduces noise coming from the fan. If the fan
nozzle area increases, then the fan noise coming from the back of the engine
decreases. Variable area fan nozzles can also increase and decrease thrust
(Mabe, 2008).
Figure 11: Variable area fan nozzles (Mabe, 2008)
4.1.7. Fan trailing edge blowing
Fan noise can also be reduced by ejecting air at the trailing edge of the fan
blades. Specially-designed passages pump air from the hub of the fan to the
trailing edge of the fan, as depicted in Figure 12. Air is pumped into the
engine to smoothen the air flow. By smoothening the air flow, fan trailing
edge blowing reduces the wake defect and thereby tone noises. Fan trailing
edge blowing also reduces the turbulence intensity of the fan, which reduces
broadband noise (Huff, 2007).
Figure 12: Fan trailing edge blowing (Huff, 2007)
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FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES
4.1.8. Soft stator vanes
Soft stator vanes reduce tone noise coming from the fan. They are vanes on
the trailing edge of a porous surface (also referred to as soft), with hollow
chambers, as depicted in Figure 13. Each chamber is tuned in a specific way
to damp out a particular frequency. Soft stator vanes reduce the unsteady
pressure response on the stator surface and absorb energy that would
otherwise become sound radiating from the stator. Soft stator vane design
can be tailored for specific frequency ranges (Fite, 2015).
Figure 13: Soft stator vanes (Fite, 2015)
4.1.9. Acoustic treatment
Acoustic treatment is accomplished by putting acoustic liners in the inlet (see
Figure 14), aft fan ducts and the tip of the rotor. These liners are mostly
honeycomb structures with porous or felt metal face sheets. These sheets
reduce tone noise around a desired target frequency. Honeycomb structures
reduce fan noise by wearing out the tones (Huff, 2007).
Figure 14: Acoustic liners (Wikipedia, 2015 & Kempton, 2011)
4.2. Jet Noise
Jet noise is reduced by lowering jet exhaust velocity. The biggest challenge is
to reduce jet noise without changing the engine cycle. Currently, the only
common noise reducing technique is the use of chevron nozzles.
4.2.1. Chevron Nozzles
Chevrons are the saw-toothed patterns on the trailing edge of an engine, as
depicted in Figure 15. Chevron nozzles use this saw-toothed pattern to
reduce jet noise by mixing the core and bypass air flow in a smoother
manner. Chevrons reduce the low frequency noise from highly turbulent
flows without changing the engine cycle.
Figure 15: Chevron nozzles (R. Kanmaniraja, 2014)
5. Expectations for the future
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has created a program called
Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN). This program is a
NextGen effort to accelerate the development and commercial deployment
of environmentally-promising aircraft technologies and sustainable
alternative fuels. These technologies focus on reducing aircraft noise,
emissions and fuel burn (Federal Aviation Administration, 2016). The Federal
Aviation Administration has awarded five-year agreements to Boeing,
General Electric, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce (Federal
Aviation Administration, 2016). One of the program’s goals is ‘developing
and demonstrating certifiable aircraft technologies that reduce noise levels
by 32dB cumulative’. The following two innovations will be a part of
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FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES
achieving the goal of CLEEN (Federal Aviation Administration, 2016). Current
engine noise pollution is at an average of 140 dB (Asha, 2016).
General Electric completed scaled Open Rotor wind tunnel tests in 2012.
These noise reduction tests indicated a 15 dB cumulative noise reduction
relative to FAA’s Stage 4 noise standards. (Federal Aviation Administration,
2014). Research conducted by teams led by Airbus and Snecma has
concluded that a 2030-timeframe short/medium-range airliner with
counter-rotating open-rotor engines is technically feasible (Warwick, 2014).
Several tools will be used to reduce noise coming from the engine, including
the trend of disk loading, design changes, and clipping (General Electric,
2013).
Pratt & Whitney is also developing and demonstrating an ultra-high bypass
ratio geared turbofan (GTF) engine with associated advanced technologies.
This GTF engine will contribute to noise reduction of 25 dB relative to the
Stage 4 noise standards (Federal Aviation Administration, 2014).
Rolls Royce also has a research program running, called DREAM (valiDation
of Radical Engine Architecture systeMs). One of DREAM’s objectives is to
reduce noise by 9 dB cumulative compared with the current Y2000 turbofan
engines (Rolls-Royce, 2016).
Glossary
 Acoustic liners: protective covering designed to control sounds.
 Anti-noise: noise designed to reduce or ban other noise.
 Broadband noise: noise whose energy is distributed over a wide section
of the audible range (such as noise coming from wind).
 Bypass ratio: airflow through the fan divided by airflow through the core
engine.
 Cumulative: increasing or increased in quantity, degree or force by
successive additions.
 Eddies: currents at variance with the main current in a stream of liquid
or gas, especially one having a rotary or whirling motion.
 Engine cycle: any series of thermodynamic phases constituting a cycle
for the conversion of heat into work.
 Fan pressure ratio: the pressure at the beginning of the fan divided by
the pressure at the end of the fan.
 Honeycomb structure: a multiple layer hexagonal structure.
 Pressure fluctuation: continual change from one pressure to another
pressure.
 Shear layer: a region of airflow with a significant velocity gradient.
 Shocks: sudden acceleration of air velocity.
 Stage: a rotor and stator combined (from the turbine or compressor).
 Stall margin: margin that delineates the differences between the RPM
of rotor blades and the RPM at which the blades will stall.
 Tones: sound or noise recognizable by regularity. A simple or pure tone
has one frequency (for example, a musical note).
 Turbulence: air turbulence caused by the disturbance of an airflow.
 Turbulent boundary layer: a current mixing all airflow layers each other,
creating intense agitation.
 Wake defect: turbulence coming from the collision of a streamlined air
flow with a high pressure area (also blade tip vortices).
 Wake: distortion in airflow coming from the rotor (like a moving ship
leaving a distortion in the water – also called ‘Kielwater’ in Dutch).
References
Acoustic Glossary. (n.d.). Retrieved from Gracey & Associates:
http://www.acoustic-glossary.co.uk/
Allen, M. P. (2012, April). Analysis and synthesis of aircraft engine fan noise
for use in psychoacoustic studies. Retrieved from Virginia polytechnic
institute and state university:
https://theses.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05022012-
155708/unrestricted/Allen_MP_T_2012.pdf
Asha. (2016). Noise. Retrieved from American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association: http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Noise/
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FIGHTING NOISE IN GAS TURBINES
Bailly, C., Bogey, C., Marsden, O., & Castelain, T. (2014, December). Subsonic
and supersonic jet mixing noise. Retrieved from laboratoire de
Mécanique des Fluides et d'acoustique: http://acoustique.ec-
lyon.fr/cours/vki_JetNoise_notes_bailly.pdf
Boeing. (2015). Current market outlook. Boeing. Retrieved from Boeing:
http://www.boeing.com/resources/boeingdotcom/commercial/ab
out-our-
market/assets/downloads/Boeing_Current_Market_Outlook_2015.
pdf
Enoval. (2014). About Enoval - Objectives. Retrieved from Enoval:
http://www.enoval.eu/page/about-enoval/objectives.php
Federal Aviation Administration. (2014, 08 01). Fact Sheet – Continuous
Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) Program. Retrieved
from Federal aviation administration:
https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=1
6814
Federal aviation administration. (2016, 04 04). Continuous Lower Energy,
Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) Program. Retrieved from Federal
aviation administration:
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/apl/r
esearch/aircraft_technology/cleen/
Fite, E. B. (2015, March). A softer vane. Retrieved from National Aeronautics
and Space Administration:
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/Acoustics/testing/facilities/softva
ne.htm
General electric. (2013). Open Rotor Engine Aeroacoustic Technology Final
Report. Evendale: Federal Aviation Administration.
Huff, D. L. (2007, September). Noise Reduction Technologies for Turbofan
Engines. Retrieved from NASA:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/2008000144
8.pdf
Kala, B. (2012, May). Noise suppression engine noise. Retrieved from Model
aircraft: http://aeromodelbasic.blogspot.nl/2012/05/noise-
suppression-engine-noise.html
Mabe, J. (2008). variable area jet nozzle for noise reduction using shape
memory alloy actuators. Retrieved from Acoustics Paris:
http://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/articl
es/003595.pdf
R. Kanmaniraja, R. F. (2014). 3D Numerical studies on jets acoustic
characteristics of chevron nozzles for aerospace application.
Retrieved from World Academy of Science, Engineering and
Technology: http://waset.org/publications/9999247/3d-numerical-
studies-on-jets-acoustic-characteristics-of-chevron-nozzles-for-
aerospace-applications
Rolls-Royce. (2016, 09 22). DREAM. Retrieved from Rolls-royce:
http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/our-
technology/research/research-programmes/dream.aspx
Smith, M. J. (1989). Aircraft noise. New York: Press Syndicate of the
University of Cambridge.
Stansfeld, S. A., & Matheson, M. P. (2003). Noise pollution: non-auditory
effects on health. oxford journals.
Warwick, G. (2014, 03 31). Airbus, Snecma Tackle Open-Rotor Integration.
Retrieved from Aviationweek: http://aviationweek.com/equipment-
technology/airbus-snecma-tackle-open-rotor-integration
Image references (top to bottom, left to right)
Front page:
Zoezoquinha. (2016). Grote motor met een klein hartje… Retrieved from
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines:
https://www.facebook.com/KLM/photos/a.378259560772.168963.273795
515772/10153917422105773/?type=3&theater
1
Huff, D. L. (2007, September). Noise Reduction Technologies for Turbofan
Engines. Retrieved from NASA:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080001448.pdf
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Huff, D. L. (2007, September). Noise Reduction Technologies for Turbofan Huff, D. L. (2007, September). Noise Reduction Technologies for Turbofan
Engines. Retrieved from NASA: Engines. Retrieved from NASA:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080001448.pdf https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080001448.pdf

3 10
Allen, M. P. (2012, April). Analysis and synthesis of aircraft engine fan noise Huff, D. L. (2007, September). Noise Reduction Technologies for Turbofan
for use in psychoacoustic studies. Retrieved from Virginia polytechnic Engines. Retrieved from NASA:
institute and state university: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080001448.pdf
https://theses.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05022012-
155708/unrestricted/Allen_MP_T_2012.pdf 11
Mabe, J. (2008). variable area jet nozzle for noise reduction using shape
4 memory alloy actuators. Retrieved from Acoustics Paris:
Smith, M. J. (1989). Aircraft noise. New York: Press Syndicate of the http://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/articles/0035
University of Cambridge. 95.pdf

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Smith, M. J. (1989). Aircraft noise. New York: Press Syndicate of the Huff, D. L. (2007, September). Noise Reduction Technologies for Turbofan
University of Cambridge. Engines. Retrieved from NASA:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080001448.pdf
6
Kala, B. (2012, May). Noise suppression engine noise. Retrieved from Model 13
aircraft: http://aeromodelbasic.blogspot.nl/2012/05/noise-suppression- Fite, E. B. (2015, March). A softer vane. Retrieved from National
engine-noise.html Aeronautics and Space Administration:
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/Acoustics/testing/facilities/softvane.htm
7
Enoval. (2014). About Enoval - Objectives. Retrieved from Enoval: 14
http://www.enoval.eu/page/about-enoval/objectives.php Wikipedia. (2015). Acoustic liner. Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_liner & Kempton, A. (2011) Acoustic
liners for modern aero-engines. Retrieved from:
8 http://www.win.tue.nl/ceas-asc/Workshop15/CEAS-ASC_XNoise-
Wikipedia. (2016). Active noise control. Retrieved from Wikipedia: EV_K1_Kempton.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_noise_control
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R. Kanmaniraja, R. F. (2014). 3D Numerical studies on jets acoustic This is a Luchtvaartfeiten.nl / AviationFacts.eu publication.
characteristics of chevron nozzles for aerospace application. Retrieved van
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology: Authors: Dost, M; Jansen, R; Meer van der, D.
http://waset.org/publications/9999247/3d-numerical-studies-on-jets-
Editorial staff: R.J. de Boer, PhD, MSc; & G.J.S. Vlaming, MSc.
acoustic-characteristics-of-chevron-nozzles-for-aerospace-applications

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