4 ms·

What's the source of the noise? The turbine itself? the air flow around the blades?

by Valgrim 5y ago

FriedrichN 5y ago
And would it still be an issue if they're in the sea?
- giantg2 5y ago
  I would guess that would increase the infrastructure/cost for transmission if you have to put them further out to sea.
  - FriedrichN 5y ago
    Where I live the turbines are already quite far out, I don't think I'd be able to hear them if they were of the vertical kind.
    - giantg2 5y ago
      95db over water could be heard from a couple miles away, especially if the atmospheric conditions are right. I don't know how far out the current ones are since we don't have any around here. This brings up another interesting point. If there are concerns around ship engines and submarine sonar or ELF for marine life, I wonder if any testing has been done concerning that with the turbines.
  - JulianMorrison 5y ago
    In the UK wind farms are usually put in the sea.
- jelder 5y ago
  Noise pollution is pretty harmful to sea life, especially cetaceans. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-noise.html https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-noise.html
  - froh 5y ago
    how much air noise transfers into the water though?
ethagknight 5y ago
My guess is the return stroke of the blade sounds like a helicopter
- jcims 5y ago
  Hadn't thought of that, but the blades are going to be slapping the wake of the upstream blade 3-4 times per revolution. The helical blade style probably help with that quite a bit though. It'd be easier to sort out with all of the videos uploaded to YouTube if humans were capable of not adding cheesy soundtracks to everything.
JulianMorrison 5y ago
At a guess: the wobble/precession/oscillation of a turning column only anchored at one side, but sticking up into the wind.
mikro2nd 5y ago
My guess (and that's all it is) is that it's the airflow around the blades -- it's a loud humming noise, present even on an unloaded (no turbine) VAWT. Much the same way that ships' propellers create noise: it is primarily generated by the blade causing a partial vacuum behind the trailing edge of the blade, and the collapse of that vacuum creates the noise.

What's the source of the noise? The turbine itself? the air flow around the blades?

FriedrichN 5y ago

And would it still be an issue if they're in the sea?

giantg2 5y ago
I would guess that would increase the infrastructure/cost for transmission if you have to put them further out to sea.
- FriedrichN 5y ago
  Where I live the turbines are already quite far out, I don't think I'd be able to hear them if they were of the vertical kind.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    95db over water could be heard from a couple miles away, especially if the atmospheric conditions are right. I don't know how far out the current ones are since we don't have any around here. This brings up another interesting point. If there are concerns around ship engines and submarine sonar or ELF for marine life, I wonder if any testing has been done concerning that with the turbines.
- JulianMorrison 5y ago
  In the UK wind farms are usually put in the sea.
jelder 5y ago
Noise pollution is pretty harmful to sea life, especially cetaceans. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-noise.html https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-noise.html
- froh 5y ago
  how much air noise transfers into the water though?

ethagknight 5y ago

My guess is the return stroke of the blade sounds like a helicopter

jcims 5y ago
Hadn't thought of that, but the blades are going to be slapping the wake of the upstream blade 3-4 times per revolution. The helical blade style probably help with that quite a bit though. It'd be easier to sort out with all of the videos uploaded to YouTube if humans were capable of not adding cheesy soundtracks to everything.

JulianMorrison 5y ago

At a guess: the wobble/precession/oscillation of a turning column only anchored at one side, but sticking up into the wind.

mikro2nd 5y ago

My guess (and that's all it is) is that it's the airflow around the blades -- it's a loud humming noise, present even on an unloaded (no turbine) VAWT. Much the same way that ships' propellers create noise: it is primarily generated by the blade causing a partial vacuum behind the trailing edge of the blade, and the collapse of that vacuum creates the noise.