Aeroacoustic flow analysis and modeling of the flow in a shrouded rotor-stator concept

The aerospace industry is developing new products to provide vehicles for the coming urban air mobility. This development must take into account the  concerns of the community with regard to  noise and pollution. Therefore, more and more engine concepts are based on electric systems to generate the high thrust required for vertical take-off. These concepts often feature short-duct rotor and stator assemblies, with a small number of blades and a small-diameter hub. While it is possible to draw on various streamlined tools for designing  machines, there are few reliable tools for assessing the aerodynamic noise of this type of rotating machine. The Groupe de Recherche Expérimentale et Numérique en Turbomachine at ETS (GRENTE), headed by Pre Marlène SANJOSÉ, is addressing this problem by developing analytical methods for calculating noise emissions that rely on the detailed study of aerodynamic flow given by numerical simulation.

The main objective of this thesis is to perform aerodynamic simulations to gain valuable insights into the flow features and to evaluate the noise mechanisms involved in the newly developed EDAT concept. The expected noise mechanisms are related to the rotor blade interaction with the inhomogeneous turbulent flow and the rotor tip leakage vortex and wake interactions with the stator. The investigation will rely on advanced numerical simulations capable of capturing the turbulent flow interactions and near-field noise propagation. Noise source models and reduced analytical propagation methods that account for the shielding effect of the shroud will be developed.