A new milestone reached by VKI and SISW

The von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) and Siemens Industry Software N.V. (SISW) are collaborating at improving wind turbine design by accounting for more realistic weather conditions, impacting both the generation of noise and its propagation through the atmospheric boundary layer.

VKI and SISW have reached an important milestone of the UPWARDS project, validating the core methods of the aeroacoustic simulation chain through benchmark comparison. The procedure is based on an automated two-dimensional workflow applied to iso-radius sections along the blade span. The VKI model is based on semi-empirical models derived from Amiet’s theory while the method adopted by SISW is based on a stochastic reconstruction of sound sources combined with a finite-element code for acoustic propagation. Preliminary results have also been obtained for a Siemens SWT-2.3MW-93 wind turbine subjected to uniform flow conditions, as a first step. The next objectives are to account for real atmospheric boundary layer effects, and to include leading-edge noise due to incoming turbulence.