NASA engineers to test noise control fan in partnership with Notre Dame lab
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Representatives from NASA will visit South Bend on Friday for tests on its Advanced Noise Control Fan (ANCF), operated by the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory (NDTL) and featuring parts made by high school students at Career Academy Network of Public Schools (CANOPS) in South Bend.
With earlier research showing that open fan engines could potentially cut fuel consumption and improve future aircraft performance, the ANCF Test Rig was relocated to the Notre Dame lab in 2016 for research and development aimed at addressing several technical and practical challenges, most notably excessive noise levels.
“When people think of NASA, they think of the space side but we do a lot of work in aeronautics,” NASA Experimental Acoustics Researcher Daniel Sutliff said. “One of our main focuses is to make aircraft engines more fuel efficient as well as quieter because that has a lot of impact on the environment. So we work with universities and different industrial partners to reduce that impact.”
The Federal Aviation Administration sets guidelines for aircraft engine noise levels, and NASA partners with industry and universities to meet the recommendations, Sutliff noted. Still decades out, the ultimate goal is to reduce noise levels on the open-rotor concept by about half.
“Airlines in particular are very interested in making it quieter so passengers have a more enjoyable flight,” Sutliff said. “The idea is to make aircraft engines so quiet that the community won’t even notice them outside the airport boundary.”
Sutliff speaks on the nature of the research NDTL is undertaking.
While the ANCF and a regular fan are similar, the similarities do not extend beyond both fans having blades, spinning and pushing air. The major difference between the ANCF and a regular fan is the different technologies required to generate the amount of power needed for the ANCF to propel the aircraft.
“The amount of power that goes into an aircraft engine can be 50 megawatts while you might only have 50 watts on your countertop fan,” NDTL Faculty Research Director Scott Morris said. “When you’re going at that speed, things tend to get noisy. That’s a big part of what we’re working on, to reduce the acoustic signatures and the sound produced.”
The NDTL team performs experimental work related to aerodynamics, structures, interfaces and safety features with students ranging from high school to the doctoral level.
“We chose Notre Dame because of their expertise in engine components and engine development. Notre Dame has very high caliber students, and they also have connections to other local universities,” Sutliff said. “The week that we’re out here is to actually put it all together and do what we call the initial operating capability, operate it, make sure it runs according to our specifications and expectations.”
For the first time ever, NDTL worked with high school students at Career Academy Network of Public Schools to 3D-print the stator vanes for the ANCF outdoor testing. Friday’s test will help researchers get baseline acoustic data for further development.
High level research of this nature is usually conducted by graduate students, postdocs or research staff, but Morris got the idea to integrate young people into the research work early on.
“This was very intentional because I was interested in having our laboratory engage the local community. My anticipation is they will not be the last group that we work with” Morris said. “The opportunity was there to take advantage of the capabilities they have for machining and producing parts and also bring the students into the process of building and assembling parts.”
NASA jumped on the prospect to engage with high school students in a tangible way, giving the kids the opportunity to design and make sample test blades for the test model.
“To be able to work with high schools at this level is just really an exciting opportunity, so we’re thrilled about it,” Sutliff said. “They’re actually going to be making critical components for the advanced noise control fan using their 3D-printing capability. Long term, we want to show that that capability is viable even for aircraft in the future.”
Friday’s test will also provide students in CANOPS’ engineering and robotics program an invaluable opportunity to connect and network with the NASA engineers.
Founded 14 years ago, CANOPS serves a predominantly marginalized student population, with most of the students coming from economically disadvantaged homes. The school takes a project-based learning and career-connected education approach to prepare students for high demand, high wage jobs.
“Learning real industry skills is the whole idea,” CANOPS Superintendent Jeremy Lugbill said. “All of those skills that employers want, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, curiosity; we really focus on measuring those competencies in addition to technical skills.”
Leveraging the playful nature of robotics to grow elementary, middle and high school students’ interest in STEM fields, students have been involved in designing, engineering and welding the robots since the club started a decade ago.
“Dave Ebersol is our coach and he has built that program up to what it is today. We started with 10 kids, 10 years ago; now we’re between 40 to 50 kids,” Lugbill said. “In the last three years, we’ve traveled to the World Championships twice. Last year, we traveled to Houston to compete against teams from all over the world.”
Students who worked on the NASA project were selected on teacher recommendation based on aptitude and ability for engineering and design.
Apart from exposing kids to STEM career options, CANOPS is focused on developing entrepreneurial skills in their students. The school wants to serve as a resource for local companies looking to outsource parts of their production process, thereby giving these teenagers an inside look into what it takes to run a successful business.
“The overarching goal is building student-run businesses that provide a service for local manufacturers and industry that’s high quality, has a quick turnaround and can be done at a cheaper rate,” Lugbill said. “It’s important to us that students are compensated and that they’re learning how to sustain a business, make money and that we’re being equitable and fair with the industry partner.”
Researchers hope bring a viable product to industry and airlines by the 2030s to 2040s, since this type of development usually spans decades.
“We have our predictions but we don’t know in detail. With the test, we get actual detailed analysis and data to validate the design and develop new technology,” Morris said. “We’re just really excited to start engaging the local high schools and getting young people involved in our research projects.