Psychoacoustic evaluation of noises produced by propellers with asymmetrical blade spacing

Hugo Fastl, Ingeborg Stemplinger

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Instrumental evaluations (e.g. Dobrzynski, InterNoise 90) showed that propeller noise can be reduced by asymmetrical blade spacing. Compared to conventional propellers with 6 blades and symmetrical spacing of 60°, propellers with asymmetric spacing of 15° produce about 3 dB(A) less level, in particular for high helical blade tip Mach numbers HBTMN. Since the aerodynamic propeller performance is not affected by asymmetrical blade spacing, this technique might be regarded as an effective means for noise reduction of propelled aircraft. However, before drawing such a conclusion based solely on instrumental evaluations, subjective evaluations of sounds from asymmetrically spaced propellers are advisable. Therefore, loudness, sharpness, pitch strength, and annoyance of the propeller sounds were studied in psychoacoustic experiments. The results showed that propellers with symmetric vs. asymmetric blade spacing elicit almost the same loudness and annoyance when measured in lab studies. However, in particular at high HBTMN, propellers with asymmetric blade spacing produce less sharpness and pitch strength.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication41st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2012, INTER-NOISE 2012
Pages6440-6447
Number of pages8
StatePublished - 2012
Event41st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2012, INTER-NOISE 2012 - New York, NY, United States
Duration: 19 Aug 201222 Aug 2012

Publication series

Name41st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2012, INTER-NOISE 2012
Volume8

Conference

Conference41st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering 2012, INTER-NOISE 2012
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew York, NY
Period19/08/1222/08/12

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