WAKE VORTEX ENCOUNTER LOADS. FLIGHT TESTS AND NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS

摘要

“A flying aircraft generates a turbulent wake as adirect consequence of its aerodynamic lift generation.This wake consists of a high amplitude of swirling airflow velocities concentrated in a region of relatively smallspatial extent trailing behind the generator aircraft.Another aircraft entering into this wake may besignificantly impacted by the vortex flow”. This is theleading text in the web page of the European CommissionResearch & Initiative Proposal WakeNet3 and it is a goodintroduction to the problem addressed in this paper.The following chapters will present the wake vortexencounter (WVE) problem from a dynamic loadsstandpoint. The numerical simulation methodology andassumptions for loads calculation will be explained, aswell as the models and tools used for that purpose. Anextensive Flight Test campaign has been dedicated tostudy the phenomenon and validate the overall loadscalculation process. Some parametric studies, devoted toa better understanding of the phenomenon and itssensitivities to some geometrical parameters will also bepresented. Finally, a stochastic approach to the loadscalculation has been performed in order to link the loadslevels with their probabilities. This kind of approach willpermit to assess the definition of wake vortex scenariosfor future regulations.