Beamforming array optimisation and phase averaged sound source mapping on a model wind turbine

Beamforming is an array processing technique often used to localise sound sources. This paper details the design and testing of a new planar microphone array in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide which will be used for localising the noise generation from a model wind turbine. The array microphone locations were found using a constrained bi-objective optimisation to find a good compromise between the array resolution, also known as beamwidth, and the maximum value of spurious lobes, known as the maximum side-lobe level. Aggregate and phase averaged beamforming results of a rotor rig experiment are presented.