In the X-Energy sub-project X-Eptance Explore, findings from the acoustic survey of the Curslack wind farm in Hamburg Bergedorf were transferred to a virtual environment in order to make it possible to experience the noise generated by wind turbines in virtual or augmented reality.
Results
The project has developed methods to create a realistic virtual representation of wind farms at real locations as automated as possible.
Larger real areas were reconstructed for the realistic representation of the surroundings of a wind farm in virtual reality. Data from geo-information systems served as the source for the reconstruction. By importing elevation, land cover models and other geo-referenced data in combination with the data-driven generation of geometry and surfaces, the effort required to create a realistic environment was drastically reduced.
A realistic soundscape was also created using acoustic simulation (=auralisation) and methodical comparison with the measurement results from the sub-project X-Eptance Impulse. Auralisation is a process used to make acoustic situations artificially audible. The spatial localisation of the sound sources and the listeners as well as the influence of the sound on the various transmission paths are taken into account. At the Curslack wind farm, the most prominent sound sources of the wind turbines were identified by the measurements and described in their characteristics, radiation behaviour and localisation. For auralisation, these sound sources were synthetically simulated and parameterised by influences such as wind speed, season, vegetation or the relative position of the listener to the sound source.
The generated “synthetic” wind farm can be explored in virtual reality. Listeners can move freely in this world and experience and assess the wind farm from different locations. In the future, the augmented reality solution will make it possible to visually and acoustically assess wind turbines at planned locations using a so-called video see-through technology.
A more detailed presentation of the results of X-Eptance Explore can be found in thefinal report of the sub-project.