Using High-Fidelity Weather Data to Improve Impedance and Absorption Adjustment Values in Airport Noise Level Predictions
Open Access
- Author:
- Shaw, Emma
- Graduate Program:
- Acoustics
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 20, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Andrew Barnard, Program Head/Chair
Victor Ward Sparrow, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Andrew Barnard, Committee Member
Dan Russell, Committee Member - Keywords:
- noise propagation
aedt
atmospheric absorption
acoustic impedance
outdoor noise
aviation noise - Abstract:
- The acoustics of an atmosphere relies heavily on environmental factors and the makeup of the atmosphere itself. It has been theorized that the integration of improved high-fidelity weather data may positively affect the prediction and modeling of outdoor noise levels, especially in large scales, such as in the field of aircraft noise. Most formal noise prediction programs currently default to assuming atmospheric homogeneity and the use of high-fidelity weather data would align more closely to the reality of the airport weather. These high-fidelity sets can be used to calculate more complex corrective adjustments corresponding to the acoustic impedance and atmospheric absorption of the region surrounding airports. This thesis will offer insight into whether or not these noise modeling programs will benefit from the use of high-fidelity meteorological files and how the accuracy of future aircraft noise predictions might be affected. The results show that the atmospheric absorption adjustment is more profoundly affected than the acoustic impedance adjustment when atmospheric inhomogeneity is incorporated. [This research was funded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Office of Environment and Energy through ASCENT, the FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and the Environment, project 62 through FAA Award Number 13-C-AJFE-PSU under the supervision of Chris Hobbs. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the FAA.]