Aeroacoustic Research in Europe - 1996 Highlights: A Summary of Last Year's Activities in the Six CEAS Coutries

Abstract

Aeroaoustics, the science of noise generation and propagation through airflows, is a relatively young discipline compared to other more classical fields of mechanics. Nevertheless, it has seen tremendous progress since its foundations were laid in the form of the first overall aeroacoustic theory by Lighthill in his pioneering work in 1952. The basic understanding of aerodynamically generated noise has increased fundamentally by the subsequent works of Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings (aeroacoustic significance of aerodynamic surfaces), Powell (concept of vortex sound), Howe (generalization of Powell's theory), Lilley and Ribner (aeroacousticsin shear flows) to mention but a few of the break-throughs in this field. From the very beginning, the main issues of aeroacoustic research were closely related to aeronautical applications, i.e. the reductionof noise occuring in aerospace technology in general. Since its.