The sonAIR aircraft noise simulation tool

The aircraft noise simulation model sonAIR has been designed to precisely predict single flights with the scope to investigate and optimize noise abatement procedures. With its current implementation it is also possible to do noise mapping for entire airports. The simulation process is based on a time-step approach in which single flights are represented in a high temporal resolution. Several sound source models are available, from sophisticated models for turbofan powered aircraft, which describe airframe and engine noise separately with a three dimensional directivity pattern, to simplified models for a wide variety of propeller driven aircraft and helicopters. An advanced sound propagation model is used, which for example pays particular attention to air attenuation through a stratified atmosphere. The whole simulation chain is formulated for one-third-octave-bands, with a frequency range of 25 Hz to 5 kHz. The full implementation of the program in a geographical information system allows for a user-friendly calculation process. In this contribution an overview of the calculation process is given and results of model verifications as well as application examples are presented.