A comparative study of semi-empirical noise emission models based on the PANAM and sonAIR aircraft noise simulation tools

Abstract

In the context of aircraft noise simulations, an accurate representation of the aircraft noise sources is crucial so that reliable predictions can be obtained. In this contribution, we present a comparative study between the predictions provided by the emission models based on the DLR’s in-house PANAM tool and the sonAIR simulation software. Both are based on semi-empirical descriptions of the engine and airframe noise contributions, meaning that the emission levels are modeled separately for each noise source according to the operational conditions of the aircraft. This allows the comparison of the emission models not only in terms of the aircraft’s overall noise levels, but also regarding its different noise sources. The comparative study considers models representing the noise emissions of an A319 aircraft, which are provided by both simulation tools but further simulated within the sonAIR software environment in order to yield noise immission levels on a large calculation area. In general, a good agreement is observed for the departure procedure due to the similar performance of the engine noise models. In contrast, larger differences are observed during the approach procedure and at larger distances from the runway, which might be explained by differences in the airframe noise models.