Visualization of aerodynamic noise source around a rotating fan blade

The purpose of this study is to understand the aerodynamic noise source distribution around a rotating fan blade by measuring the noise signal and velocity field around the blade. The local noise-level distribution over the fan blade is measured by microphone arrays, and the flow field is visualized by smoke and phase-averaged PIV measurement. The noise source distribution is examined by cross-correlation analysis between noise signal and velocity fluctuation. It is found that the noise source is located near the rotating fan blade, especially around leading and trailing edges. The separation and reattachment of flow are observed near the leading edge, and the tip vortices and vortex shedding are found near the trailing edge. The cross-correlation distribution of the noise signal and the radial velocity fluctuation shows large magnitude in the correlated regions, which indicates the noise generation by the formation of vortex structure around the blade.