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Sources of noise
There are two potential sources of noise:
Aerodynamical as the turbine blades passing through
the air and
Mechanical: The gearbox and generator in the
nacelle.
Noise from the blades is minimised by careful design
and manufacture of the blades.
The noise from the gearbox and generator is reduced
by sound insulation and isolation materials. For a
modern wind turbine this component is normally
negligible
Wind Energy Course, Phuket, 11-15 Sept 2006
Sources of noise
What kinds of noise do wind turbines produce?
Wind turbines most commonly produce some
broadband noise as their revolving rotor blades
encounter turbulence in the passing air. Broadband
noise is usually described as a "swishing" or
"whooshing" sound.
Some wind turbines (older ones) can also produce
tonal sounds (a "hum" or "whine" at a steady pitch).
This can be caused by mechanical components or,
less commonly, by wind flow interacting with turbine
parts. This problem has been eliminated in modern
turbine designs.
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Measurement of noise
Noise is measured in decibels (dB). The decibel is a
measure of the sound pressure level, i.e. the
magnitude of the pressure variations in the air. An
increase of 10 dB sounds roughly like a doubling of
noise level to human ear (highly non-linear).
Measurement-wise 3 dB(A) increase means a
doubling of the noise
Measurement of noise requires that the noise signal
is some 10 dB(A) above the background noise
The background noise from leaves, birds, and traffic
will frequently be above 30 dB(A).
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Definitions
Sound propagation
The energy in the sound
waves decreases
proportional to the square
of the distance to the
source i.e. a doubling of
the distance leaves only
of the energy
Doubling the distance
means a decrease in
sound intensity of 6 dB(A)
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Background noise
Background noise
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Noise abatement
What have manufacturers done to reduce wind turbine
noise?
Most rotors are upwind: A wind turbine can be either
"upwind" (that is, where the rotor faces into the wind)
or "downwind" (where the rotor faces away from the
wind). Today, almost all of the commercial wind
machines on the market are upwind designs, and the
few that are downwind have incorporated design
features aimed at reducing impulsive noise induced
from tower shadow (e.g. by increasing the distance
between rotor and tower).
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Noise abatement
Soundproofing in nacelles has been increased: The
generator, gears, and other moving parts located in
the turbine nacelle produce mechanical noise.
Soundproofing and mounting equipment on sounddampening buffer pads helps to deal with this issue.
Wind turbine blades have low noise design: Turbine
blades are constantly being redesigned to make them
more efficient and less noisy. Already in the mid1990ies LM introduced blades with a special twist
to reduce generation of aerodynamic noise
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Noise abatement
Gearboxes are specially-designed for quiet operation:
Wind turbines use special gearboxes, in which the
gear wheels are designed to flex slightly and reduce
mechanical noise. In addition, special sounddampening buffer pads separate the gearboxes from
the nacelle frame to minimize transmission of
vibrations to the tower
Towers and nacelles are streamlined: Streamlining
(aerodynamic shape to tower and to the nacelle)
reduces any noise that is created by the wind passing
the turbine.
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Noise abatement
Many manufacturers have low-noise programs in
the control system, where the inflow angle and rpm of
the rotor is reduced. The noise can be significantly
reduced at the expense of power output.
This can be implemented in the control program at
certain times a day or year, at certain wind speeds,
certain wind directions etc.
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Recommendations
What can be done to reduce the likelihood of a noise
problem from a wind project?
A noise analysis should be carried out based on the
operating characteristics of the specific wind turbine,
the terrain in which the project will be located, and
the distance to nearby residences.
Also, pre-construction noise surveys can be
conducted to find out what the normally-occurring
background noise levels are at the site, and to
determine later on what, if anything, the wind project
has added to those levels.
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Recommendations
The most common method for dealing with a
potential noise issue, is to require a minimum
distance between any of the wind turbines in the
project and the nearest residence, that is sufficient to
reduce the sound level to a regulatory threshold.
Some permitting agencies have set up noise
complaint resolution processes. In such a process,
typically, a telephone number through which the
agency can be notified of any noise concern is made
public, and agency staff work with the project owner
and concerned citizens to resolve the issue. The
process should include a technical assessment of the
noise complaint to ensure its legitimacy.
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3 wind turbines
Total height 100 m
Hub height 60 and 67 m
Source 104 dB(A)
WindPro ver. 2
www.emd.dk
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