Developing Solutions to Tonal Noise from Wind Turbines Using COMSOL Multiphysics® Software

J. M. Stauber [1], B. A. Marmo [1],
[1] Xi Engineering Ltd, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Published in 2016

Tonal noise from wind turbines can have effects on neighboring residences and its emission can result in strong regulatory penalties that can include the closure of wind farms. The authors present a model of a new broadband damping approach where containers filled with EniDamp™, an Advance Particle Damping (APD) material. The containers, so-called APD pods, are magnetically fixed to wind turbine towers. A 3D model of the wind turbine was constructed and the sound pressure level (SPL) at an observer position at a distance of tip height was computed using a structural-acoustic interaction model. The present model predicts that the placement of APD pods on the tower of a wind turbine leads to significant reductions in the vibration and the tonal noise emissions from the tower.