Abstract
Infrasound, low-frequency noise (ILFN) and amplitude modulation of the noise are known to disturb some residents living near wind farms. However, the mechanisms responsible for ILFN and amplitude modulation are not well understood. In an attempt to shed some light on these mechanisms, acoustic measurements were taken close to a wind farm, at residences located two or more kilometres from the nearest turbine in a wind farm and in an anechoic chamber using a scale-model, electrically-driven, wind turbine. The measured spectra reveal distinct peaks at the frequencies corresponding to the blade-pass frequency and its harmonics, and the characteristics of these peaks are remarkably similar for field and laboratory measurements, indicating that the zero mean flow simulation is a good representation of an actual wind turbine. Near field acoustic holography measurements on the scale-model turbine confirm that tonal components at the frequencies corresponding to the blade-pass frequency and its harmonics are generated as a result of blade-tower interaction, suggesting that it is likely to be an important mechanism of infrasound generation for industrial wind turbines. Inaccuracies in the assumed location of sources of noise generated by a wind turbine affect the accuracy of community noise predictions. This is because the source height affects the distance from the turbine beyond which sound rays arrive at the receiver having been reflected from the ground more than once, thus reducing the attenuation with distance from the turbine.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Boué M (2007) Long-range propagation over the sea with application to wind turbine noise. Technical report, KTH
Doolan C, Moreau DJ, Brooks LA (2012) Wind turbine noise mechanisms and some concepts for its control. Acoust Australia 40(1):7–13
Dooley KA (2013) Significant infrasound levels a previously unrecognized contaminant in landmark motion sickness studies. J Acoust Soc Am 134(5):4097
Dooley KA, Metelka A (2014) Acoustic interaction as a primary cause of infrasonic spinning mode generation and propagation from wind turbines, vol 20, p 2272
Hald J (2009) Basic theory and properties of statistically optimized near-field acoustical holography. J Acoust Soc Am 125(4):2105–2120
Hansen K, Hessler G, Hansen C, Zajamsek B (2015) Prediction of infrasound and low frequency noise propagation for modern wind turbines: a proposed supplement to ISO 9613–2. In: Proceedings of WTN15, the sixth international conference on wind turbine noise
Hansen K, Zajamsek B, Hansen C (2014) Comparison of the noise levels measured in the vicinity of a wind farm for shutdown and operational conditions. In: InterNoise 2014
IEC-61400-11 (2012) Wind turbine generator systems—part 11: acoustic noise measurement. Technical report, International Standard IEC 61400–11
Ljunggren S (1996) Ljudutbredning kring havsbaserade vindkraftverk. resultat fren litteraturstudie. Technical report, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, KTH
Madsen HA (2010) Low frequency noise from wind turbines mechanisms of generation and its modelling. J Low Freq Noise Vib Active Control 29(4):239–251
Møller H, Pedersen CS (2004) Hearing at low and infrasonic frequencies. Noise Health 6(23):37
Møller H, Pedersen CS (2011) Low-frequency noise from large wind turbines. J Acoust Soc Am 129:3727–3744
Oerlemans S, Schepers J (2009) Prediction of wind turbine noise and validation against experiment. Int J Aeroacoust 8(6):555–584
Plovsing B (2007) Proposal for nordtest method: Nord 2000-prediction of outdoor sound propagation. DELTA Acoustics, Report AV, 1106(07)
Plovsing B, Kragh J (2006) Nord 2000, comprehensive outdoor sound propagation model. part 2: propagation in an atmosphere with refraction. Delta Acoustics for Nordic Noise Group, Report AV 1851/00
RenewableUK (2013) Wind turbine amplitude modulation: research to improve understanding as to its cause and effect. Technical report
Salt AN, Lichtenhan JT (2014) How does wind turbine noise affect people. Acoust Today 10:20–28
Sondergaard B, Plovsing B (1016) (2005) Noise from offshore wind turbines. Environmental Project
Tyler JM, Sofrin TG (1962) Axial flow compressor noise studies. SAE Trans 70:309
Van den Berg G (2004) Effects of the wind profile at night on wind turbine sound. J Sound Vib 277:955–970
Van den Berg G (2005) The beat is getting stronger: the effect of atmospheric stability on low frequency modulated sound of wind turbines. J Low Freq Noise Vib Active Control 24(1):1–24
Willshire Jr WL, Zorumski WE (1987) Low-frequency acoustic propagation in high winds. In: NOISE-CON 87; Proceedings of the National conference on noise control engineering, vol 1, pp 275–280
Wright S (1971) Discrete radiation from rotating periodic sources. J Sound Vib 17(4):437–498
Wright S (1976) The acoustic spectrum of axial flow machines. J Sound Vib 45(2):165–223
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hansen, C., Zajamšek, B., Hansen, K. (2016). Infrasound and Low-Frequency Noise from Wind Turbines. In: Zhou, Y., Lucey, A., Liu, Y., Huang, L. (eds) Fluid-Structure-Sound Interactions and Control. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48868-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48868-3_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-48866-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-48868-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)