Numerical prediction of wind turbine noise using large eddy simulation

在各种能源中，与煤炭或裂变核材料相比，风能是一种更清洁、更可持续的能源。风力发电是可再生的，对周围环境友好(即，应对气候变化和当地/地区空气污染的“答案”)。然而，风能的主要缺点是它的不可靠性(即，风并不总是以足够的速度存在于风能系统中)和噪声污染。事实上，风力涡轮机噪音对健康的影响引起了很大争议。噪声的挫折(定义为涡轮机底部和噪声接收器之间的最小水平间隔距离)很难确定，因为它们是主观的，而不是基于风险的。正是在这种背景下，提出了一项研究计划，将基于自适应网格加密(AMR)技术的先进计算流体动力学(CFD)算法与大涡模拟(LES)湍流模型相结合。大涡模拟解将用于计算Ffowcs，William和Hawking(FWH)方程中的厚度(单极)、负载(偶极)和四极噪声源项，以预测远场噪声。为了验证我们的数值程序，将在滑铁卢大学能源研究中心的消声室中测量不同配置(例如，独立、串联和并联)的冷却风扇(S)和/或(比例模型)风力涡轮机(S)的声学数据(例如，声压级与频率的关系)。这个电波暗室需要翻新，并将提交一份随附的NSERC RTI建议书，以获得支持实验计划所需的新声学泡沫、数据采集系统、麦克风和其他附件。这项提案的结果将被用来帮助健康研究人员回答诸如风力涡轮机噪音的生理影响(焦虑、耳鸣或听力损失)等问题。

Among the various sources of energy, wind energy represents a cleaner and more sustainable source of energy than those derived from either coal or fissile nuclear materials. Wind power is renewable and friendly to the surrounding environment (i.e., an "answer" to climate change and local/regional air pollution). However, the main disadvantage regarding wind power is its unreliability (viz., the wind is not always present with enough velocity to power a wind energy system) and noise pollution. In fact, the health effects arising from wind turbine noise are the source of much controversy. Setbacks for noise (defined as minimum horizontal separation distances between the base of a turbine and a noise receptor) are difficult to determine, because they are subjective rather than risk-based. It is against this background that a research program is put forward, in which advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) algorithms based on a new adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) technique in conjunction with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence models will be developed. The LES solutions will be used to compute the thickness (monopole), loading (dipole) and quadrupole noise source terms in the Ffowcs, William and Hawkings (FWH) equation in order to predict far-field noise. To validate our numerical procedure, acoustic data (e.g., sound pressure level (SPL) vs. frequency) from cooling fan(s) and/or (scaled model) wind turbine(s) in different configurations (e.g., stand-alone, in serial and in parallel) will be measured in an anechoic chamber in the Energy Research Center at the University of Waterloo. This anechoic chamber requires refurbishment, and an accompanying NSERC RTI proposal will be submitted to acquire new acoustical foam, a data acquisition system, microphones and other accessories required to support the experimental program. The outcome of this proposal will be used to assist health researchers in answering questions such as what are the physiological effects (anxiety, tinnitus or hearing loss) of wind turbine noise.