Novel Approach for Reducing Rotor Tip-Clearance-Induced Noise in Turbofan Engines

Rotor tip-clearance induced noise, both in the form of rotor self noise and rotor-stator interaction noise, constitutes a significant component of total fan noise. Innovative yet cost effective techniques to suppress rotor-generated noise are, therefore, of foremost importance for improving the noise signature of turbofan engines. To that end, the feasibility of a passive porous treatment strategy to positively modify the tip-clearance flow field is addressed. The present study is focused on accurate viscous flow calculations of the baseline and the treated rotor flow fields. Detailed comparison between the computed baseline solution and experimental measurements shows excellent agreement. Tip-vortex structure, trajectory, strength, and other relevant aerodynamic quantities are extracted from the computed database. Extensive comparison between the untreated and treated tip-clearance flow fields is performed. The effectiveness of the porous treatment for altering the rotor-tip vortex flow field in general and reducing the intensity of the tip vortex, in particular, is demonstrated. In addition, the simulated flow field for the treated tip clearly shows that substantial reduction in the intensity of both the shear layer roll-up and boundary layer separation on the wall is achieved.