A variable area nozzle for airliner engine exhausts could reduce noise substantially, according to researchers at the UK's University of Cambridge.
Currently used on military engines during afterburner operation, the technology would require considerably larger nozzles for airliner engines. The fully open nozzle would have an exit area three times that of today's core exhausts to reduce engine noise significantly.
"The nozzles would look very different to military ones. We are currently building models for conceptual tests and eventually we will have subscale models to test out the theories, perhaps within the next year," says Daniel Crichton, a postgraduate researcher.
Source: Flight International