N.C. A&T Researchers Create Breakthrough to Reduce Aircraft Engine Noise
By Jordan M. Howse / 12/12/2024 Research, College of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
- 4-H and Youth Development News
- Academic Affairs News
- Accounting and Finance News
- Administration and Instructional Services News
- Admissions News
- Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education News
- Agricultural and Natural Resources News
- All News
- Alumni News
- Animal Sciences News
- Applied Engineering Technology News
- Athletics News
- Biology News
- Built Environment News
- Business and Finance News
- Business Education News
- CAES News
- CAHSS News
- Chancellor's Speaker Series
- Chancellors Town Hall Series
- Chemical, Biological, and Bio Engineering News
- Chemistry News
- Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering News
- COE News
- COED News
- College News
- Community and Rural Development News
- Computational Science and Engineering News
- Computer Science News
- Computer Systems Technology News
- Cooperative Extension News
- COST News
- COST News
- Counseling News
- Criminal Justice News
- Deese College News
- Economics News
- Educator Preparation News
- Electrical and Computer Engineering News
- Employees News
- Energy and Environmental Systems News
- English Department News
- Family and Consumer Sciences News
- Graphic Design Technology News
- Hairston College News
- Headlines News
- History & Political Science News
- Honors College News
- Human Resources News
- Industrial and Systems Engineering News
- Information Technology Services News
- Innovation Station News
- Journalism & Mass Communication
- JSNN News
- Kinesiology News
- Leadership Studies and Adult Education News
- Liberal Studies News
- Library News
- Magazine News
- Management News
- Marketing News
- Mathematics News
- Mechanical Engineering News
- Media Spotlight News
- Natural Resources and Environmental Design News
- News Categories
- Nursing News
- Psychology News
- Research News
- Social Work News
- Student Affairs News
- Students News
- The Graduate College News
- Transportation & Supply Chain
- University Advancement News
- Visual & Performing Arts News
EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 12, 2024) – Rockets can be heard as far as 15 miles away from their launch site. Jet planes and military aircrafts can be as loud as 150 decibels at takeoff, loud enough to rupture an eardrum. Similarly, highway noise annoys neighbors.
Researchers in the Center for Composite Materials Research (CCMR) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s College of Engineering (COE) have envisioned, designed, fabricated and successfully tested the first-ever lightweight high-temperature acoustic liner on NASA Glenn Research Center’s DGEN380 Engines’ exhaust section.
The high-temperature acoustic liner was subjected to rigorous testing at NASA Glenn’s Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory. During these tests, the exhaust gas temperature was raised to 700°C — an impressive feat in itself, as conventional acoustic materials struggle to maintain integrity and performance beyond 250 ⁰C. Despite the harsh conditions, the liner maintained its structural integrity leading to a significant leap forward in acoustic technology.
“The idea was envisioned in 2009. We made some samples and shared them with some national labs but could not interpret the results properly,” said Kunigal Shivakumar, Ph.D., CCMR director.
The work resumed in 2017, when Bharath Kenchappa, Ph.D., joined A&T for his doctoral program and with the help of the Navy in procuring the test equipment. A new Ph.D.-level course was introduced, and the work was revamped. The validation of the idea, design and analysis was Kenchappa’s Ph.D. work. This was first field tested on NASA’s Advanced Noise Control Fan engine for the inlet section.
“The results surprised us all,” Shivakumar said. “Encouraged by this success we extended the application to the high-temperature section, DGEN 380 exhaust, where the temperature can exceed 700 ⁰C. No successful technology exists for these temperatures. This revolutionary technology could pave the way for even higher-performing acoustic liners, potentially extending the use in a wide range of aerospace applications, from commercial jetliners to military aircraft.”
The design not only enhances the efficiency of the liner at extreme temperatures but also contributes to the broader goal of reducing environmental noise pollution from aviation. The reduction in exhaust noise could lead to quieter engines, improving the overall environmental footprint of air travel — a critical factor as the aviation industry seeks to meet stricter noise regulations and environmental standards.
“I am always impressed but never surprised by what our researchers can do,” said Stephanie Luster-Teasley Pass, Ph.D., COE dean. “When we conduct interdisciplinary work, we prove every time how important it is to have diversity of thought and skill in the room. We are consistently proud of the work that Dr. Shivakumar’s group and our Center for Composite Materials Research do.”
Shivakumar’s team includes Kenchappa, Christopher Couch, a research associate at the CCMR, and Thaddeus Wolicki, a COE lab technician who will create the material, design and fabricate prototypes of the acoustic liners.Media Contact Information: jmhowse@ncat.edu