Many species of owls are known to fly quieter than other birds and use acoustic stealth as a predatory advantage. However, the quiet flight of owls has not yet been reproduced on a flight vehicle, even at the owl scale.
This project investigates two effects, wing porosity and edge geometry, and their ability to reduce turbulence noise and affect aerodynamic performance. Model predictions at Lehigh are compared to experimental noise measurements at ARL Penn State, where students have been in extended residence for part of their degree program. New insights from these fundamental analyses have been applied to an owl-inspired glider to demonstrate their effectiveness on a real flight vehicle.
Below: The owl-inspired glider designed and built by the Jaworski Research Group goes for a test flight.
This research was led by Prof. Justin Jaworski in collaboration with the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University, with support from the National Science Foundation.
Read more about Prof. Jaworski’s research on aeroacoustics of silent owl flight, bioinspired noise control, and unsteady aerodynamics of porous airfoils.