Impact of building wake turbulence on the noise footprint of a dipole source

Building-generated turbulence can significantly influence the propagation of noise from advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles operating in urban environments, yet its impact on acoustic variability remains poorly quantified. In this study, the effect of an isolated building wake on sound propagation is investigated using time-resolved Lattice-Boltzmann very-large-eddy simulations. A simplified tonal acoustic source representative of an AAM vehicle is placed downstream of the building, and the resulting unsteady sound field is analyzed within and downstream of the turbulent wake. The results show that wake-induced turbulence produces pronounced temporal fluctuations in the received sound pressure level, with variability exceeding 3 dB in localized regions. These fluctuations extend beyond the physical extent of the wake due to interference effects and reflected propagation paths from the building and ground. Analysis along selected propagation directions indicates a strong correlation between turbulence-induced velocity fluctuations and acoustic variability along direct propagation paths, while this correlation weakens in regions dominated by multiple reflections. The findings emphasize the importance of accounting for unsteady, building-induced flow effects when evaluating AAM noise in urban environments.