HELICOPTER NOISE PREDICTIONS USING KIRCHHOFF METHODS

This paper presents two methods for predicting the noise from helicopter rotors in forward flight. Aerodynamic and acoustic solutions in the near field are computed with a finite-difference solver for the Euler equations. Two different Kirchhoff acoustics methods are then used to propagate the acoustic signals to the far field in a computationally-efficient manner. One of the methods uses a Kirchhoff surface that rotates with the rotor blades. The other uses a nonrotating Kirchhoff surface. Results from both methods are compared to experimental data for both high-speed impulsive noise and blade-vortex interaction noise. Agreement between experimental data and computational results is excellent for both cases. The rotating and nonrotating Kirchhoff methods are also compared for accuracy and efficiency. Both offer high accuracy with reasonable computer resource requirements. The Kirchhoff integrations efficiently extend the near-field finite-difference results to predict the far field helicopter noise.