Vorcat wins STTR Phase I award from the US Air Force to extend its capabilities to eVTOL Aeroacoustics
Vorcat, Inc. is pleased to announce that its US Air Force (USAF), STTR Phase I proposal titled “Development of eVTOL Aeroacoustics Software Solver based on Vorcat CFD,” has been selected for an award. This project, in partnership with Purdue University and in-kind support from the Applied Research Laboratories at The University of Texas at Austin (ARL:UT), will demonstrate the feasibility of employing the Vorcat technology in the prediction of acoustic fields produced by eVTOL vehicles
Interest in abating noise pollution from future eVTOL vehicles utilized in urban environments, and more stealth acoustics designs for future military vehicles, are major motivating factors for this proposed study. Past strategies for predicting noise about aircraft and rotorcraft tended to be highly empirical leading to limited generalization and accuracy. On the other hand, modern acoustics methodologies can be employed as an effective and comprehensive means of predicting noise only if supplied with critical information about the transient turbulent flow surrounding the vehicle.
The modeling software for obtaining accurate information about the transient behavior of turbulent aerodynamic flows are significantly limited and remain as an obstacle to the analysis of acoustic fields. This difficulty is exacerbated by the complex, turbulent flow field surrounding multi-rotor configurations such as proposed by over 300 listed eVTOL design teams. The focus of this phase I STTR proposal is in demonstrating the unique capabilities of our breakthrough Vorcat software for turbulent flow prediction via a grid-free vortex method that addresses the problem of reliably analyzing acoustic fields produced by eVTOL vehicles. The ultimate goal of this project is to construct a reliable CAA technology based on Vorcat CFD that can be employed by the eVTOL industry to reduce noise pollution by its various designs.
The noise produced by commercial and military aircraft including helicopters is a recurring political issue fostered by the close proximity of airports and population centers, and a security issue for military aircraft on certain missions. Future eVTOL vehicles, which are expected to be utilized in large numbers (perhaps even swarms) in urban areas as means of transporting passengers and other payloads, must be quiet enough so as not to pollute the environment with unhealthy levels of noise. Schemes for sound attenuation in existing aircraft and the design of new generations of quiet eVTOL vehicles can have a large impact in enabling more frequent and extended use of such vehicles in urban settings. The possibility of increasing aircraft load capacity without increased noise is another important benefit of advances in technologies related to noise prevention.
Current noise prediction schemes are insufficiently robust to efficiently and fully explore the complete range of low noise producing technologies, which should be considered in the design process. The proposed work aims to expand the horizon for reduced noise aircraft in general and eVTOL in particular by supplying accurate noise predictions in the early design phase. This has the additional practical benefit of reducing the cost of engineering analysis as it relates to acoustic design. Moreover, it raises the possibility of treating the aerodynamic and acoustic problems in aerospace engineering at the same time, with considerable benefit to manufacturers and their customers.
Vorcat, Inc.’s overarching goal is to provide its various capabilities in the form of Apps in the HPC cloud. If successful, the propose technology will be ported to the HPC cloud and offered on a “pay per play” basis. It will be easy to use and benefit a large number of users from the academia, small and medium sized businesses, which cannot afford to pay for expensive annual licenses, don’t have access to supercomputers, or do not have the expertise to employ complicated CFD software sold by our competitors.