A review is made of the present state of our knowledge of the vortex wakes of conventional aircraft. Included are discussions of wake rollup, geometry, instability, and turbulent aging. In the light of these discussions, a brief review is made of the persistence of vortices in the atmosphere, and design techniques which might be used to minimize wake hazard are considered.
Investigation of vortex wakes behind various aircraft, especially behind wide bodied and heavy cargo ones, is of both scientific and practical in terest. The vortex wakes shed from the wing’s trailing edge are long lived and attenuate only atdistances of10–12kmbehindthe wake generating aircraft. The encounter of other aircraft with the vortex wake of a heavy aircraft is open to catastrophic hazards. For example, air refueling is adangerous operationpartly due to thepossibility of the receiver aircraft’s encountering the trailing wake of the tanker aircraft. It is very important to know the behavior of vortex wakes of aircraft during theirtakeoff andlanding operations whenthe wakes canpropagate over the airport’s ground surface and be a serious hazard to other depart ing or arriving aircraft. This knowledge can help in enhancing safety of aircraft’s movements in the terminal areas of congested airports where the threat of vortex encounters limits passenger throughput. Theoreticalinvestigations of aircraft vortex wakes arebeingintensively performedinthe major aviationnations.Usedforthispurpose are various methods for mathematical modeling of turbulent flows: direct numerical simulation based on the Navier–Stokes equations, large eddy simulation using the Navier–Stokes equations in combination with subrigid scale modeling, simulation based on the Reynolds equations closed with a differential turbulence model. These approaches are widely used in works of Russian and other countries’ scientists. It should be emphasized that the experiments in wind tunnels and studies of natural vortex wakes behind heavy and light aircraft in flight experiments are equally important.
Fluid mechanical aspects of separated and vortical flow in aircraft wing aerodynamics are treated. The focus is on two wing classes: (1) large aspect-ratio wings and (2) small aspect-ratio delta-type wings. Aerodynamic design issues in general are not dealt with. Discrete numerical simulation methods play a progressively larger role in aircraft design and development. Accordingly, in the introduction to the book the different mathematical models are considered, which underlie the aerodynamic computation methods (panel methods, RANS and scale-resolving methods). Special methods are the Euler methods, which as rather inexpensive methods embrace compressibility effects and also permit to describe lifting-wing flow. The concept of the kinematically active and inactive vorticity content of shear layers gives insight into many flow phenomena, but also, with the second break of symmetry---the first one is due to the Kutta condition---an explanation of lifting-wing flow fields. The prerequisite is an extended definition of separation: “flow-off separation” at sharp trailing edges of class (1) wings and at sharp leading edges of class (2) wings. The vorticity-content concept, with a compatibility condition for flow-off separation at sharp edges, permits to understand the properties of the evolving trailing vortex layer and the resulting pair of trailing vortices of class (1) wings. The concept also shows that Euler methods at sharp delta or strake leading edges of class (2) wings can give reliable results. Three main topics are treated: 1) Basic Principles are considered first: boundary-layer flow, vortex theory, the vorticity content of shear layers, Euler solutions for lifting wings, the Kutta condition in reality and the topology of skin-friction and velocity fields. 2) Unit Problems treat isolated flow phenomena of the two wing classes. Capabilities of panel and Euler methods are investigated. One Unit Problem is the flow past the wing of the NASA Common Research Model. Other Unit Problems concern the lee-side vortex system appearing at the Vortex-Flow Experiment 1 and 2 sharp- and blunt-edged delta configurations, at a delta wing with partly round leading edges, and also at the Blunt Delta Wing at hypersonic speed. 3) Selected Flow Problems of the two wing classes. In short sections practical design problems are discussed. The treatment of flow past fuselages, although desirable, was not possible in the frame of this book.
The combination of increasing airport congestion and the ad vent of large transports has caused increased interest in aircraft wake turbulence. A quantitative understanding of the interaction between an aircraft and the vortex wake of a preceding aircraft is necessary for planning future high density air traffic patterns and control systems. The nature of the interaction depends on both the characteristics of the following aircraft and the characteristics of the wake. Some of the questions to be answered are: What deter mines the full characteristics of the vortex wake? What properties of the following aircraft are important? What is the role of pilot response? How are the wake characteristics related to the genera ting aircraft parameters? How does the wake disintegrate and where? Many of these questions were addressed at this first Aircraft Wake Turbulence Symposium sponsored by the Air Force Office of Sci entific Research and The Boeing Company. Workers engaged in aero dynamic research, airport operations, and instrument development came from several count ries to present their results and exchange information. The new results from the meeting provide a current picture of the state of the knowledge on vortex wakes and their interactions with other aircraft. Phenomena previously regarded as mere curiosities have emerged as important tools for understanding or controlling vortex wakes. The new types of instability occurring within the wake may one day be used for promoting early dis integration of the hazardous twin vortex structure.
This volume contains the papers of a German symposium dealing with research and project work in numerical and experimental aerodynamics and fluidmechanics for aerospace and other applications. It gives a broad overview over the ongoing work in this field in Germany.
