The modeling of sound propagation for land-based wind turbines is a complex task that takes various parameters into account. Not only do the wind speed and wind direction affect the noise received at a certain position by changing the refraction of the sound, but also the terrain complexity, ground impedance, and receiver position relative to the source and ground all affect propagation. These effects are seen by the reflections of the sound at the ground surface causing interference of sound waves, or by the receiver being positioned in and out of noise shadow zones in the upwind far field position, or in steep terrain irregularities. Several sound propagation models with different levels of fidelity have been developed through time to account for these effects. This paper will focus on two different parabolic equation models, the Beilis-Tappert Parabolic Equation and the Generalized Terrain Parabolic Equation, through theoretical studies of varying terrain complexity, ground impedance, and sound speed profiles (upwind, downwind, and no wind). In addition, the propagation models are validated through spectral comparisons to noise measurements from two different campaigns considering loudspeaker noise and wind turbine noise, respectively.

This article analyzes aircraft noise measurements from the Airbus A321neo at 7.5 and 5 nautical miles from the runway threshold. Using correlation, analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis, we assessed the influence of flight data recorder variables and meteorological parameters on the measured sound level variations. A combination of aircraft speed and configuration of the high lift devices can predict approximately 60% of the sound level variations. Sound level dependence on speed ranges between 0.5 and 1.5 dB/10 kn for different configurations and landing gear deployment had a +3 dB impact on sound levels. At the same time, weather and wind conditions accounted for a relatively small proportion of the variation. Overall, this study sheds light on the factors contributing to aircraft noise during the final approach and provides insights into potential noise reduction strategies.

This article presents the results from a series of aircraft approach trials that were conducted with the aim to investigate noise reduction procedures within the boundaries of a normal ILS approach. The significant decline in air traffic at Stockholm Arlanda, that occurred during the pandemic meant that the empty airspace and the availability of grounded aircrafts could be utilized to perform controlled flights - something that would have been difficult to achieve during normal traffic conditions. The approach trials were performed by two Airbus A321, which alternately carried out interrupted landing procedures starting 17 nautical miles (nm) from the runway threshold. During the trials, the aircraft speed and configuration (high lift devises and landing gear) were varied according to a predetermined schedule. To capture these variations, flight data (FDR) were recorded while the noise on ground was measured at positions approximately once every nautical mile along the flight track. Results suggest that speed and configuration recommendations can be effective to reduce noise, especially for the final 7 nautical miles of the flight track. However, whether a low speed is to be advocated during the entire approach is currently unclear.

One problem for railway noise predictions is to characterize noise from various auxiliary equipment, e.g., fans, compressors, transformers. The noise from such sources can be a dominating contribution under low-speed operation or stand still. To better handle this problem the EU-project TRANSIT investigates improved methods for acoustic source characterization. As a starting point it is assumed that an acoustic source is enclosed by a control surface. The surface is sub-divided into smaller areas and each area is assumed to act as an acoustic one-port coupled to all the other areas. The properties of each area can then be described by its volume flow and internal impedance. The resulting acoustic pressure at a receiving point, can finally be expressed as a product of the source volume flows and a matrix representing the acoustic installation effects (“source+radiation impedances”). To simplify the method one can assume uncorrelated sources and use an ISO procedure for sound power to determine the volume flows. The acoustic installation effects can be obtained using a monopole point source to measure or calculate the pressure at selected receiving positions.

This study investigates the numerical prediction for the aerodynamic noise of the vertical axis wind turbine using large eddy simulation and the acoustic analogy. Low noise designs are required especially in residential areas, and sound level generated by the wind turbine is therefore important to estimate. In this paper, the incompressible flow field around the 12 kW straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine with the rotor diameter of 6.5 m is solved, and the sound propagation is calculated based on the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings acoustic analogy. The sound pressure for the turbine operating at high tip speed ratio is predicted, and it is validated by comparing with measurement. The measured spectra of the sound pressure observed at several azimuth angles show the broadband characteristics, and the prediction is able to reproduce the shape of these spectra. While previous works studying small-scaled vertical axis wind turbines found that the thickness noise is the dominant sound source, the loading noise can be considered to be a main contribution to the total sound for this turbine. The simulation also indicates that the received noise level is higher when the blade moves in the downwind than in the upwind side.

Amplitude modulation is assumed to be a major annoyance factor of wind turbine sound. However, studies on the generation of amplitude modulation and the impact of atmospheric conditions on amplitude modulation are limited, especially in cold climates. Long-term acoustic and meteorological measurements in the vicinity of a wind farm in northern Sweden show a dependence of the occurrence of amplitude modulation on wind direction and atmospheric stability. The occurrence of amplitude modulation is highest for crosswinds from southwest, compared with the other wind directions. Moreover, the occurrence of amplitude modulation is clearly linked to atmospheric stability and highest for very stable conditions. The impact of atmospheric stability is supported by analyses of wind shear, the wind speed gradient close to the surface and the bulk Richardson number. Amplitude modulation is more likely during winter than during summer and more likely during night and early morning than during noon and early afternoon.

This article aims to investigate if the proportion of the rotor area of a wind turbine that is in the refractive shadow zone according to a ray tracing algorithm coupled to meteorological forecast data is correlated to sound levels and amplitude modulation. The acoustic station is situated 950 m from a wind farm in Northern Sweden and the measurement period is seven months. On average, 1.9 dBA lower sound levels are measured when the part of the rotor disk of the closest turbine is in the refractive shadow zone. A higher probability of amplitude modulations are observed when around half of the turbine rotor is within the refractive shadow zone compared to conditions with no shadow zone present.

An analysis of the effect of low-level wind maxima (LLWM) below hub height on sound propagating from wind turbines has been performed at a site in northern Sweden. The stably stratified boundary layer, which is typical for cold climates, commonly features LLWM. The simplified concept for the effects of refraction, based on the logarithmic wind profile or other approaches where the wind speed is continuously increasing with height, is often not applicable there. Long-term meteorological measurements in the vicinity of a wind farm were therefore used to identify LLWM. Sound measurements were conducted simultaneously to the meteorological measurements. LLWM below hub height decrease the sound level close to the surface downwind of the wind farm. This effect increases with increasing strength of the LLWM. The occurrence of LLWM as well as strength and height of the LLWM are dependent on the wind direction.

This paper investigates noise annoyance from wind turbines of different sizes and in different acoustic surroundings. A listening test was conducted where wind turbine noises were rated alone and together with background sounds from a deciduous forest, a busy city and road traffic. A magnitude production procedure was implemented which showed high correlation between repeated measurements and the results were analysed using A-weighted sound levels, signal-to-noise ratios and time varying loudness and partial loudness. Ratings for wind turbine sound heard alone showed no coherent statistically significant differences between wind turbine types, neither for A-weighted sound levels nor loudness. The masking test indicate that road traffic noise is a superior masker compared to forest sound. However, these effects where only statistically significant at low sound levels, below the range 35-45 dB(A), where noise guidelines for wind turbine noise usually are stipulated.