Design and Optimization of Piezoelectric Actuators for Aeroacoustic Noises Control in a Turbofan

This paper reports on the design and optimization of different types of piezoelectric actuators for aeroacoustic control applications. This study was carried out within the context of the European project CleanSky 2/InnoSTAT. The aim of our work is to reduce the aeroacoustic noises that appear in an airplane turbofan by adding an area of piezoelectric actuators on the Outlet Guide Vanes (OGV). These piezoelectric structures will subsequently be controlled with an active approach and tested in the open-jet anechoic wind tunnel at LMFE. The noise source which has to be reduce/control comes from vortices located in the turbulent flow (which can for example be created by the fan module) interacting with the stator blades. The predominant frequencies and the pressure fluctuations levels related to these vortices rely on the airflow speed and are fixed between 1000Hz and 2000Hz in our case. To reach the target, we plan to manufacture an area of piezoelectric actuators on the intrados and the extrados of the stator blades in order to control the response of the blade to the turbulence of the airflow responsible for the aeroacoustic noise. Several adjacent blades will be equipped with this type of transducers. This study outline the design and the optimization of each piezoelectric cell in order to achieve good results in the frequency range previously defined as well as an acceptable mechanical strength of the blade. A most detailed study on the active shunt will be investigate later on.