If you have ever sat in an airplane and wondered why it was so noisy, you are not alone. The noise can be caused by jet engines, stalling compressors, or even the thud of the landing gear. In this article, we’ll take a look at what causes plane noise and how to minimize it.
Airplane noise
The noise level from planes varies depending on your personal sensitivity, where you are standing, and the direction of the plane. This is also affected by the height of the airplane above the ground and the amount of air resistance around the wings and undercarriage. While these factors contribute to aircraft noise, they cannot account for all of it.
Airplane noise is the result of jet engines creating powerful sound waves. High-velocity air exiting the nozzle hits low-velocity air outside, creating turbulence. It produces a loud noise due to amplification of the fluctuations of the turbulence. This phenomenon has intrigued scientists since antiquity.
Jet engine noise
Jet engines create audible sound waves because of the turbulence they cause when the air exits the nozzle. The turbulence fluctuations are amplified and cause the noise. Scientists have long been fascinated with turbulence and the sound it makes. They’ve also been fascinated with how plane noise is produced.
It may be surprising to learn that jet aircraft are loud, even when they’re flying at cruising altitude. In fact, the sound from an airplane can sometimes sound like it’s stopped, but that’s not the case. This is because the aircraft is flying at a lower altitude, where the air is thinner and the aircraft requires less power to maintain its altitude. However, when flying at high speeds, the airplane will generate more aerodynamic noise.
Compressor stall
If you’ve ever been in a plane and heard the whir of the fan blades while the engine is running, you’re familiar with the sound of compressor stall. This happens when the air flow through the compressor blades gets obstructed by an upstream blockage. This blockage causes the airflow to flow through the blades at a steep angle, which causes the blades to stall. The resulting stall causes the blades to rotate at a faster rate, but the blades will perform at a reduced efficiency.
When a plane stalls, the compressor produces a loud bang, and the air flow is reduced. It may also be accompanied by flames emitted from the engine. The stall also causes the rotor to accelerate to high speeds, which causes intense aerodynamic buffeting and severe stresses.
Landing gear thud
If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you’ve probably heard the rumble and thud of the landing gear. This is the noise you hear as the plane extends and retracts its landing gear. As the landing gear retracts and extends, the wheels stop spinning and create a loud thud. It’s a strange sound, but it’s a necessary one when landing on a runway.
While this sounds a little like water running through a pipe, it’s actually the landing gear retracting. The sound is caused by the hydraulic fluid running through the gears and cylinders in the landing gear. The gears also make a clunk sound when they close. The landing gear thud is a sign that the airplane is coming down.
Temperature
The temperature of the air is one factor that determines how loud planes are. Cold air absorbs sound more effectively than hot air, which means the noise level of planes is higher during the winter. Airplanes also tend to be louder on days with reverse-flow wind conditions. This is because cloud cover tends to bend sound waves downward, increasing their intensity when they are heard on the ground.
Cloud cover
The climate is made up of three layers, the upper atmosphere, the stratosphere, and the lower atmosphere. The lower atmosphere is called the troposphere, and is covered with clouds. This layer stretches from the surface up to about 12 kilometers in altitude. The upper atmosphere, which is called the stratosphere, consists of a layer that extends from about 12 to 100 kilometers above the surface.
The temperature difference between the air and cloud affects the attenuation of sound. The dry air absorbs more sound energy than the moist air. This is because the water vapor in clouds weighs less than the air, and therefore they float in the air. For this reason, a stormy or rainy day will be louder than a calm day. The clouds will also bend sound waves downward, increasing the amount of noise that reaches the ground.
Man-made barriers
It is important to understand how man-made barriers affect plane noise levels. In some cases, they reduce the amount of noise, but others do not. Noise barriers are often visually appealing, so they blend in with the surrounding environment. Nonetheless, they are not without flaws.
Noise barriers can be constructed using a variety of materials. One of the most effective methods is to build barriers along highways. These barriers can be built to block out the noise, which is a public health concern.
