IOA GPA CW2 2009/10 1

DIPLOMA IN ACOUSTICS AND NOISE

CONTROL
General Principles of Acoustics: Coursework Assignment 2
Noise from a small wind turbine
Value: 100% of Assignment 1
Issue date: 21 December 2009.
Deadline for submission to your tutor: 22 March 2010.

This assignment is intended to test your knowledge and understanding of basic acoustical
concepts, principles and calculations when assessing the noise from a small wind turbine.
To obtain high marks in this assignment, you will need to answer all five questions, showing
and explaining your calculations in detail and citing any references you use.

A secondary school in a rural area is planning to install a small wind turbine with a power
generating capacity of 5kW on school grounds as part of its science curriculum activities and
in line with its environmental policy. The school has asked for advice on the potential noise
impact from the turbine. A plan of the site is shown in Figure 1. The school building is
60m× 30m× 15m (high). The school is surrounded by its sports fields and pasture. These
areas are flat, level and predominantly grass-covered. The turbine manufacturer has
recommended that the hub should be installed at a height of 10m above the ground surface.
Other noise in the area is from traffic along School Road with a typical 18-hour traffic flow of
5000 vehicles.

Figure 1 Plan of School site

Wind turbine noise measurements have been carried out in accordance with the relevant
standard (BS EN 61400-11 (2003)). The resulting values for the rated sound power as a
function of wind speed are given in Table 1.
Table 1
wind speed [m/s] 6 7 8 9 10
LWA,k [dB] 83.2 85.8 87.6 89.6 91.5

© Institute of Acoustics (UK) 2009 1

IOA GPA CW2 2009/10 2

Q1 (i) Give a brief description of the locations, spectral and temporal characteristics of
the noise sources on a wind turbine. [15 marks]
1
(ii) The BWEA Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard specifies the use
of a reference sound pressure level at 60 m rather than sound power level.
What reference sound pressure levels correspond to the power levels in Table 1?
[10 marks]

Q2 Discuss the particular issues associated with the assessment of wind turbine noise
impact, paying particular attention to the effect of wind on the noise produced by the turbine
and the background noise. [15 marks]

Q3 Explain how you would determine the potential noise impact of the wind turbine around
the School site. You should make reference to the BWEA standard, BS4142, ETSU-R97 and
issues raised in the IOA Consultation Paper on Permitted Development Rights for
Householder Microgeneration2, along with any other guidance you may wish to cite,
explaining the relevance in each case. [25 marks]

Q4 If the background noise level is to be measured, specify what should be measured and
how the results of the measurements should be interpreted. [20 marks]

Q5 What factors should be considered when choosing between candidate locations for the
turbine, given that the nearest dwelling is at No.1 School Road? [15 marks]

[end of assignment]

1
Supplied with the assignment
2
Supplied with the assignment

© Institute of Acoustics (UK) 2009 2