Noise Reduction in a Bird Inspired Aero Foil using Trailing-Edge Serrations

Abstract

The current work deals with the efficacy of the bionic-inspired airfoil of Tyto Alba (a barn owl) in noise reduction. Due to their distinct wing morphology, owls are noted for their quiet flying, which is astonishingly low-noise both when gliding and flapping. The low-noise operation of airfoil is inspired by these remarkable characteristics of owl flight. Research conducted in the past suggests that an airfoil that has an extensive sinusoidal profile can only reduce noise to a certain extent. As a coupling element, an owl-wing-inspired ridge is added to the trailing edge of airfoils with serrations in this work. This proposed method of noise reduction using trailing edge serrations showed the efficacy of a bionic-inspired airfoil with the existing approaches. A numerical study was performed using computational tools and has shown that the proposed bionic-inspired structure could reduce noise more effectively. The results show that wide wavelengths have less low-frequency tonal noise but more at high frequencies. This paper concludes that owl-inspired trailing edge serrations may be an effective aero-acoustic control device for wind turbines, aircraft, drones, and other fluid machines.