Testing Propeller Tip Modifications to Reduce Acoustic Noise Generation on a Quadcopter Propeller

If vertical lift vehicles are to operate near population centers, they must be both quiet and efficient. The goal of this research is to develop a propeller that is more efficient and generates less noise than a stock DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter propeller. Reducing the generated tip vortex was the main objective. After studying the literature, seven promising tip treatments were selected and applied to a stock DJI Phantom 2 propeller to reduce the tip vortex. Several different configurations were tested for each tip treatment to determine the rpm and required power to hold 0.7 lbf thrust, the static hover condition. For each test, operating at the hover condition, a radial traverse 1 in. behind the propeller permitted the measurement of the near field sound pressure level (SPL) to find the maximum SPL and its radial location. Several configurations tested resulted in 8–10 dBA reductions in SPL when compared to the stock propeller; however, these configurations also resulted in an unacceptable increase in the power required to achieve the desired thrust. The most promising tip treatment tested was the trailing edge (TE) notch at a radial location of 0.95 r/R with a double slot width and a double depth (DSDD). The DSDD configuration as tested reduced the SPL 7.2 dBA with an increase in power required of only 3.96% over the stock propeller. This tradeoff, while not the largest reduction in noise generation measured, had an acceptable power increase for the decrease in SPL achieved.

Design of Acoustic Tubes Array and Application to Measuring Acoustic Loads in Supersonic Airflow

In the acoustic fatigue experiment for hypersonic vehicle in simulated harsh service environment on ground, acoustic loads on the surface of test pieces of the vehicle need to be measured. However, for the normal microphones without high temperature resistance ability, the near field sound measurement cannot be achieved. In this work, on the basis of previous researches, an acoustic tubes array is designed to achieve the near field measurement of acoustic loads on the surface of the test piece in the supersonic airflow with high temperature achieved by coherent jet oxygen lance. Firstly, the process of designing this acoustic tubes array is introduced. Secondly, the equality of phase differences at the front and at the end of the tubes is stated and proved using a phase differences test with an acoustic tubes array whose design is presented in this text; therefore, the phase differences of signals acquired by microphones can be directly applied to beamforming algorithm to determine the acoustic load source. Finally, using above mentioned acoustic tubes array, measurement of acoustic load, with and without a test piece in the supersonic airflow made by the coherent jet oxygen lance, is conducted respectively, and the measurements results are analyzed.