A decisive factor in the acceptance of these new technologies by the general public, the potential noise nuisance caused by wind turbines and drones is at the heart of the research being carried out by Olivier Doaré and Benjamin Cotté, both lecturers at the ENSTA Paris Mechanics Unit.
One of the difficulties in assessing these nuisances lies in the fact that the criterion generally used for noise, the number of decibels, is not completely relevant in the case of wind turbines, since noise is not constant, and varies according to the weather. It needs to be coupled with other data, such as a census of the low frequencies typically emitted by this type of installation, to obtain a good representation of the noise environment they produce.
In order to anticipate possible nuisances, the best tool is modelling: just as an architect produces a model of his project to give an idea of its visual impact on the environment, the models developed at the Mechanical Engineering Unit are sound models offering an auditory preview of the planned installations.
