Understanding Slat Noise Sources

Model-scale aeroacoustic tests of large civil transports point to the leading-edge slat as a dominant high-lift noise source in the lowto mid-frequencies during aircraft approach and landing. Using generic multi-element high-lift models, complementary experimental and numerical tests were carefully planned and executed at NASA in order to isolate slat noise sources and the underlying noise generation mechanisms. In this paper, a brief overview of the supporting computational effort undertaken at NASA Langley Research Center, is provided. Both tonal and broadband aspects of slat noise are discussed. Recent gains in predicting a slat’s far-field acoustic noise, current shortcomings of numerical simulations, and other remaining open issues, are presented. Finally, an example of the ever-expanding role of computational simulations in noise reduction studies also is given.