The technology behind noise reduction:

The most dominant sources of engine noise come from two parts of the engine: the blades
of the fan at the front, and the jet exhausting at the rear. Much of the research undertaken
at the UTC has been focused on acquiring a better understanding of both of these noise
sources, and on developing new technologies to reduce their effect. The fan draws air into
the engine and provides propulsive power, propelling the aircraft forward. In modern
aircraft engines, only a small proportion of air actually goes through the core of the engine,
the rest passes around it down the bypass duct. This ‘bypass ratio’ has steadily increased
over the last 30 years. On the most recent large engines in the Rolls-Royce Trent range,
some of which have fans that are over three metres in diameter, the bypass ratio exceeds
10:1

A successful method of reducing noise further, even in ultra-high bypass ratio engines, is to
absorb sound created within the engine. Acoustically absorbent material or acoustic ‘liners’
can be placed on the interior surfaces - on, for example, the walls of the intakes and bypass
ducts. Much work has been done at the ISVR on optimising such acoustic treatments, so the
sound radiated from the engine is dramatically reduced to a tenth of that of an unlined
engine.

SOME ACHIEVEMENTS:

Aircraft today are 20-30dB quieter than first generation of jet aircraft, such as the Boeing
707 and Comet. They now produce less than 1% of the sound of these early airliners, with
less than a quarter of the annoyance.

The new ‘Dreamliner’ (Boeing 787) is built with a light carbon fibre fuselage and is powered
by another new quiet engine from Rolls Royce - the Trent 1000. But research will need to
continue to drive down aircraft noise further, and research at the University of Southampton
will continue to play an important part in meeting this goal.