Wind tunnel test and CFD/CAA analysis on a scaled model of a nose landing gear

In work package 2.2.4 "NLG Low-Noise Enabling Technologies" of the Clean Sky GRA LNC project, the Fraunhofer Institute proposes hubcaps for reducing noise from a nose landing gear (NLG) as the most promising solution. The purpose of this paper is to prove the effect of the hubcaps experimentally and numerically. A simplified and 1:5-scaled model of a NLG was first created by the rapid prototyping technique together with hubcaps that can cover both the outer and inner hub cavities. Noise radiated from various NLG configurations with and without hubcaps were measured during they were placed in the wind tunnel. In the configuration without hubcaps, two major noise peaks in addition to a continuous spectrum were observed in the direction parallel to the wheel axle. When the inner hubcaps were attached to the NLG, the levels of the peaks were significantly reduced. The outer caps have no effects on the noise reduction. Nearly the same noise spectrum as the original no-hubcap configuration was observed. Although the peaks were not clearly observed in the direction perpendicular to the axle, the same noise reduction could be recognized in the inner-hubcap configuration. In the numerical examination, a stationary CFD analysis with a k-\'0f turbulence model was first performed and a CAA analysis was then carried out based on Lighthill's aeroacoustic analogy after reconstructing a time-varying turbulent flow by a stochastic noise generation and radiation model. In the CAA analysis of the no-hubcap configuration, a strong fluctuation in the right and left inner hub cavities, where pressure is oscillating alternately, was observed. This fluctuation served as a dipole noise source whose direction is parallel to the wheel axle. The simulated spectrum of far field sound pressure in this direction has the peaks corresponding to the ones experimentally observed. In the hubcap configuration, the pressure fluctuation in the inner hubcap cavities was greatly reduced. Because of this, the noise peaks were well depressed. Due to the dipole characteristics of the noise source, no clear peaks were simulated in the far field spectrum in the direction perpendicular to the axle. In conclusion, the effectiveness of the inner hubcaps has been proved in the wind tunnel experiment and confirmed in the numerical analysis. The mechanism of noise reduction by the inner caps has also been clarified.