The aeroacoustics of the Owl

Abstract

The secret of certain owl species enabling them to fly stealthily is investigated and adapted to the suppression of aeroacoustic noise at the trailing edge of a wing or blade. Two features from the owl are mimicked: the poro-elastic trailing edge in the owl’s feather, and the fibrous canopy structure above the nominal wing surface. Initial modelling and experimental results demonstrate up to 10 dB noise reduction over a wide frequency range without reducing aerodynamic performance.