Sound by Design: Extending the Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings Model to Novel Geometries

What happens when propeller designs no longer fit standard aeroacoustic models?

At Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), within the TorPropel project, we are exploring noise prediction for novel propeller geometries — going beyond traditional benchmark cases. Our work not only evaluates acoustic performance, but also uncovers key trade-offs between noise, efficiency, and other critical design parameters.

To predict the acoustic signature of such geometries, we are using the Ffowcs Williams – Hawkings (FWH) equation, one of the cornerstones of modern aeroacoustic theory. This equation is used often to calculate the noise propagation in the far-field and consists of three different terms regarding noise sources: 

💡 Monopole or thickness noise: Due to fluid displacement by the moving surface

💡 Dipole or loading noise: Due to unsteady aerodynamic forces on the surface

💡 Quadrupole or turbulence noise: Due to turbulence and non-linear effects in the flow volume

It is quite interesting - and challenging at the same time - to evaluate the implementation of this model in non-standard geometries and assess the possible differences or deviations from the typical framework, because FWH was built and validated on conventional geometries.

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) team is developing the full simulation pipeline to evaluate the noise emitted by novel propeller configurations.