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At least 289 records · Page 16

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NASA NTRS1993

Feasibility of detecting aircraft wake vortices using passive microwave radiometers

The feasibility of detecting the cold core of the wake vortex from the wingtips of an aircraft using a passive microwave radiometer was investigated. It was determined that there is a possibility that a cold core whose physical temperature drop is 10 C or greater and which has a diameter of 5 m or greater can be detected by a microwave radiometer. The radiometer would be a noise injection balanced Dicke radiometer operating at a center frequency of 60 GHz. It would require a noise figure of 5 dB, a predetection bandwidth of 6 GHz, and an integration time of 2 seconds resulting in a radiometric sensitivity of 0.018 K. However, three additional studies are required. The first would determine what are the fluctuations in the radiometric antenna temperature due to short-term fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. Second, what is the effect of the pressure and temperature drop within the cold core of the wake vortex on its opacity. The third area concerns the possibility of developing a 60 GHz radiometer with a radio metric sensitivity an order of magnitude improvement over the existing state of the art.

Harrington, Richard F.↗

NASA NTRS1975

A flight test investigation of the rolling moments induced on a T-37B airplane in the wake of a B-747 airplane

A flight test investigation of the B-747 vortex wake characteristics was conducted using a T-37B as a probe aircraft. The primary purpose of the program was the validation of the results of B-747 model tests which predicted significant alleviation of the vortex strength when only the inboard flaps were deflected. Measurements of the vortex-induced rolling moments of the probe aircraft showed that the predicted alleviation did occur. The effects of landing gear extension, increased lift coefficient, idle thrust, and sideslip were investigated, and all had an adverse effect on the alleviated condition as evidenced by increased induced rolling moments of the T-37B probe aircraft. Idle thrust also increased the strength of the B-747 wake vortexes with both inboard and outboard flaps extended.

Smith, H. J.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Laser Doppler velocimeter system simulation for sensing aircraft wake vortices

A hydrodynamic model of aircraft vortex wakes in an irregular wind shear field near the ground is developed and used as a basis for modeling the characteristics of a laser Doppler detection and vortex location system. The trailing vortex sheet and the wind shear are represented by discrete free vortices distributed over a two-dimensional grid. The time dependent hydrodynamic equations are solved by direct numerical integration in the Boussinesq approximation. The ground boundary is simulated by images, and fast Fourier Transform techniques are used to evaluate the vorticity stream function. The atmospheric turbulence was simulated by constructing specific realizations at time equal to zero, assuming that Kolmogoroff's law applies, and that the dissipation rate is constant throughout the flow field. The response of a simulated laser Doppler velocimeter is analyzed by simulating the signal return from the flow field as sensed by a simulation of the optical/electronic system.

Thomson, J. A. L.↗

NASA NTRS1982

A prescribed wake rotor inflow and flow field prediction analysis, user's manual and technical approach

A user's manual is provided which includes the technical approach for the Prescribed Wake Rotor Inflow and Flow Field Prediction Analysis. The analysis is used to provide the rotor wake induced velocities at the rotor blades for use in blade airloads and response analyses and to provide induced velocities at arbitrary field points such as at a tail surface. This analysis calculates the distribution of rotor wake induced velocities based on a prescribed wake model. Section operating conditions are prescribed from blade motion and controls determined by a separate blade response analysis. The analysis represents each blade by a segmented lifting line, and the rotor wake by discrete segmented trailing vortex filaments. Blade loading and circulation distributions are calculated based on blade element strip theory including the local induced velocity predicted by the numerical integration of the Biot-Savart Law applied to the vortex wake model.

Egolf, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) Concept and Development

The AVOSS goal is to: (1) Support TAP goal of improving instrument operations capacity 12-15% while maintaining safety; (2) Provide dynamical aircraft wake vortex spacing criteria to ATC systems at capacity limited facilities with required lead time and stability for use in establishing aircraft arrival scheduling; and (3) System development and concept demonstration. The AVOSS system concept is to separate aircraft from encounters with wake vortices of an operationally unacceptable strength. In doing so, define protected corridor from outer marker to runway and predict time for vortex to clear ("Transport Time"), define operationally unacceptable wake strength and predict time to decay ("Decay Time"), combine and provide to ATC automation ("Residence Time"), and monitor safety and provide predictor feedback with wake vortex detection subsystem.

Hinton, David A.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Basic analysis of terminal operation benefits resulting from reduced vortex separation minima

The impact of reducing the wake vortex minimum separation required behind heavy jets on terminal area operation rate was analyzed. The effect on arrival saturation and steady state average delay was determined for various percentages mix of heavy and large jet traffic samples operating under various precision of interarrival spacing. Benefits increase with percentage of heavy aircraft and with precision of control. These results demonstrate the payoff possible from research to reduce the severity of the trailing vortex by aerodynamic means.

Credeur, L.↗

DOE OSTI2020

OLAF User's Guide and Theory Manual

This report consists of the user's guild and theory manual for a newly-integrated free vortex wake method (OLAF) into OpenFAST. The report will serve as a reference for all pertinent theoretical information, as well as compilation/use instructions and best-practices for using the code.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

NASA NTRS1977

Effect of wing fins on lift-generated wakes

A theoretical and experimental study has been made of the effect of wing-mounted fins on the vortex wakes of subsonic aircraft. The theory is used (a) to gain an understanding of wake alleviation by vortex injection and (b) to guide the experimental investigation. Wind-tunnel tests were used to evaluate the alleviation achievable and to find the optimum values for the various fin parameters. It was found that vertical fins mounted on the upper surface of a wing could lower the wake-induced rolling moments on an encountering wing by a factor of 3 or more. The most promising fin configuration found for the Boeing 747 model is a fin positioned 48% outboard from the centerline to the wingtip with a height of 0.014 span, a chord of 0.085 span, and an 18 deg angle of attack. This fin configuration caused a 10% increase in drag but no lift penalty.

Rossow, V. J.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Recent Laboratory and Numerical Trailing Vortex Studies

Results from two laboratory studies and two numerical studies are presented. In the first laboratory study, measurements of the strength of vortices from a three-dimensional (3-D) model wing are presented. The measurements follow the vortices as they evolve in time from a two-dimensional (2-D) line vortex pair to the development and migration of 3-D vortex rings. It is shown that the resulting vortex rings can contain up to 40 percent of the initial vortex circulation. Thus, the formation of vortex rings may not necessarily signal the end of the wake hazard to following aircraft. In the second laboratory study, we present the results of an experiment which shows how the spanwise drag distribution affects wake-vortex evolution. In this experiment, we modified the spanwise drag distribution on a model wing while keeping the total lift and drag constant. The results show that adding drag on or near the centerline of the wing has a larger effect than adding drag at or near the wingtips. These measurements complement the results of NASA studies in the 1970s. In the first numerical study, results of 3-D numerical calculations are presented which show that the vortex Reynolds number has a significant influence on the evolution and migration of wake vortices. When the Reynolds number is large, 3-D vortex rings evolve from the initially 2-D line vortex pairs. These vortex rings then migrate vertically. When the Reynolds number is lower, the transition of vorticity from 2-D to 3-D is delayed. When the Reynolds number is very low, the vortices never transition to 3-D, and the vertical migration is significantly reduced. It is suggested that this effect may have been important in previous laboratory wake-evolution studies. A second numerical study shows the influence that vertical wind shear can have on trailing vortex evolution.

Delisi, Donald P.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Interactions of airfoils with gusts and concentrated vortices in unsteady transonic flow

Unsteady interactions of concentrated vortices and distributed free-stream gusts with a stationary airfoil have been analyzed in two-dimensional transonic flow. A simple method of introducing such disturbances has been implemented numerically in the well-known transonic small-disturbance code LTRAN2, and calculations have been performed for two important classes of current aerodynamic problems. The first, which demonstrates many of the essential features of the interactions between helicopter rotor blades and their trailing-vortex wakes, is that of a discrete potential vortex convecting past an airfoil. The second is the response of a transonic airfoil to a transverse periodic gust, with and without the alleviation that can be achieved by the proper active control motion of a trailing-edge flap. In both cases, unsteady effects are found to play important roles in the shock-wave motion, in the overall flow-field development, and consequently, in the air loads on the airfoil.

Mccroskey, W. J.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Flight Data Reduction of Wake Velocity Measurements Using an Instrumented OV-10 Airplane

A series of flight tests to measure the wake of a Lockheed C- 130 airplane and the accompanying atmospheric state have been conducted. A specially instrumented North American Rockwell OV-10 airplane was used to measure the wake and atmospheric conditions. An integrated database has been compiled for wake characterization and validation of wake vortex computational models. This paper describes the wake- measurement flight-data reduction process.

Vicroy, Dan D.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Challenges in Rotor Aerodynamic Modeling for Non-Uniform Inflow Conditions

Within an international collaboration framework, the accuracy of rotor aerodynamic models used for design load calculations of wind turbines is being assessed. Where the use of high-fidelity computation fluid dynamics (CFD) and mid-fidelity free-vortex wake (FVW) models has become commonplace within the wind energy community, these still fail to meet the requirements in terms of execution time and computational cost needed for design load calculations. The fast but engineering fidelity blade-element/momentum (BEM) method can therefore still be considered the industry workhorse for design load simulations. At the same time, upscaling of wind turbine rotors makes inflow non-uniformities (e.g. shear, veer, turbulence) more important. The objective of this work is to assess model accuracy in non-uniform inflow conditions, which violate several BEM assumptions. Thereto a comparison in turbulent inflow has been executed including a wide variety of codes, focusing on the DanAero field measurements, where a 2.3-MW turbine was equipped with, among other sensors, a pressure measurement apparatus. The results indicate that, although average load patterns are in good agreement, this does not hold for the unsteady loads that drive fatigue damage and aero-elastic stability. A simplified comparison round in vertical shear was initiated to investigate the observed differences in a more controlled manner. A consistent offset in load amplitude was observed between CFD and free-vortex codes on the one hand and BEM-type codes on the other hand. To shed more light on the observations, dedicated efforts are ongoing to pinpoint the cause for these differences, in the end leading to guidelines for an improved BEM implementation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Comparing wind turbine aeroelastic response predictions for turbines with increasingly flexible blades

Highly flexible blades are becoming more prevalent designs as a potential solution to the transportation challenges associated with large-scale wind turbine rotors. However, there is currently no quantitative definition of “highly flexible” blades. To further develop turbines with highly flexible blades, a precise definition of the term and accurate simulations of turbines with such blades are required. Assumptions made in the traditional aerodynamic model, Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory, are violated in turbines with flexible blades. However, Free Vortex Wake (FVW) methods can more accurately model these turbine designs. Though more computationally expensive than BEM, FVW methods are still computationally tractable for use in iterative turbine design. The purpose of this work was to determine the blade flexibility at which BEM and FVW methods begin to produce diverging aeroelastic response results. This was accomplished by simulating the BAR-DRC reference turbine with increasingly flexible blades in a range of steady, uniform inflow conditions using OpenFAST, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s physics-based turbine engineering tool. Blade-tip deflections confirmed that BEM and FVW results diverge as blade flexibility increases. For the 212 m rotor diameter turbine used in this study, the two methods largely agreed for smaller blade deflections. But their results differed by an average of 5% when the out-of-plane blade-tip deflections exceeded 5% of the blade length and in-plane blade-tip deflections exceeded 1.25% of the blade length, with percent differences approaching 25% at the largest deflections.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1985

An approximate model of vortex decay in the atmosphere

An approximate analysis of atmospheric effects on wake vortex motion and decay is presented. The effects of density stratification, turbulence, and Reynolds number are combined in a single model so that the relative importance of different parameters can be determined. Predicted wake motion is shown to be in good agreement with limited data from both ground facility and flight test measurements taken under low turbulence conditions. Wake decay was found to depend strongly on both density stratification and turbulence. For typical levels of turbulence, wake decay was found to result from the 'Crow instability' except under strongly stratified conditions.

Greene, G. C.↗

NASA NTRS1957

A Theoretical Study of the Aerodynamics of Slender Cruciform-Wing Arrangements and Their Wakes

A theoretical study is made of the pressures, loadings, forces, and vortex wake associated with certain cruciform wing arrangements. For 45 degree bank, the wake of a cruciform wing is treated numerically with 40 vortices and analytically with 4 vortices. Comparisons are made with water-tank measurements, and the calculation of loads on cruciform tails by reverse flow considered.

Spreiter, John R↗

NASA NTRS1977

Wind-tunnel measurements in the wakes of structures

Detailed measurements of longitudinal mean velocity, turbulence intensity, space correlations, and spectra made in the wake of two rectangular scaled models in simulated atmospheric boundary-layer winds are presented. The model buildings were 1:50 scale models of two trailers. Results of a flow visualization study of the wake geometry are analyzed with some singular point theorems. Two hypothetical flow patterns of the detailed wake geometry are proposed. Some preliminary studies of the vortex wake, effects of the model size, model aspect ratios, and boundary layer characteristics on the decay rate and extent of the wake are also presented and discussed.

Woo, H. G. C.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Velocity and rolling-moment measurements in the wake of a swept-wing model in the 40 by 80 foot wind tunnel

Measurements were made in the wake of a swept wing model to study the structure of lift generated vortex wakes shed by conventional span loadings and by several span loadings designed to reduce wake velocities. Variations in the span loading on the swept wing generator were obtained by deflecting seven flap segments on each side by amounts determined by vortex lattice theory to approximate the desired span loadings. The resulting wakes were probed with a three component, hot wire probe to measure velocity, and with a wing to measure the rolling moment that would be induced on a following aircraft. The experimental techniques are described herein, and the measured velocity and rolling moments are presented, along with some comparisons with the applicable theories.

Rossow, V. J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Research on aircraft/vortex-wake interactions to determine acceptable level of wake intensity

An evaluation of the literature on large aircraft wake-vortex encounters in flight and in flight simulators has furnished an estimate of the level to which the vortex-induced rolling moments must be reduced in order to be perceived as nonhazardous at a 2-n.mi. separation distance. The criteria are based on the ratio of the vortex-induced acceleration in roll to the aileron-induced roll acceleration. A wake is acceptably alleviated if the ratio of vortex-to-aileron rolling moments is less than about 0.5. When a satisfactory alleviation scheme is identified, the alleviated vortex structure should be inserted into a simulator to ascertain whether the maximum bank angles induced are within tolerable limits.

Rossow, Vernon J.↗