Plasma Fairings for Quieting Aircraft Landing Gear Noise

A major component of airframe noise for commercial transport aircraft is the deployed landing gear. The noise from the gear originates due to complex, unsteady bluff body flow separation from gear components and the subsequent multiple interactions of unsteady wakes with downstream undercarriage elements. The object of this SBIR effort is to develop and advance a novel 'plasma fairing' technology for quieting landing gear noise. The concept deals with the use of single dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma actuators to reduce noise associated with bluff body separation around the gear. SDBD plasma actuators will be employed either in the form of spanwise-orientated actuators or plasma streamwise vortex generators (PSVGs) to suppress surface pressure fluctuations, and consequently flow-induced noise, on a representative landing gear model. Our Phase I effort will involve a combination of numerical and experimental studies to be conducted at Innovative Technology Applications Company, LLC and the University of Notre Dame, respectively, in order to advance the design and optimization of 'plasma fairings' from a simple geometry (tandem circular cylinder) to a more complex/realistic landing gear geometry (e.g., the Gulfstream G550 nose gear). A combination of DES numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments is expected to provide a clear demonstration of the plasma fairing performance for noise reduction, while providing a clear path forward for Phase II.

This research aims to directly address NASA technical challenge for Quiet Low-Speed Performance under the Fixed Wing Project, that is, to reduce perceived community noise by 71 dB with minimal impact on vehicle weight and performance. While the main thrust of the proposed research is to develop plasma fairings for reducing noise on an aircraft landing gear, these can be effectively configured to reduce noise caused by the wing flap and slats as well. Other potential NASA applications of the proposed plasma flow control concepts include lift enhancement and drag reduction on aircraft wings, high angle-of-attack operation using plasma actuators as lifting devices, enhanced performance and efficiency of propulsion (S-ducts, inlets) and aerodynamic (control surfaces) systems at both on- and off-design conditions, and improved cycle efficiency of NASA's air-breathing propulsion systems.

Potential non-NASA applications for the plasma actuators include design of revolutionary subsonic and hypersonic aerospace vehicles for commercial and military (DoD) purposes, use in turbomachinery systems, noise-control on landing gears of commercial aircraft, design of smart wind turbine rotor blades, drag reduction on ground vehicles, smart helicopter rotor blades, tip-casing clearance flow control for reduced turbine losses, control of flow surge and stall in compressors, and turbulent transition control experiments.

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