Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-tdptf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-08T13:19:59.765Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Wake vortex encounters in a flight simulator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2016

D. J. Allerton
Affiliation:
d.j.allerton@sheffield.ac.uk
G. T. Spence
Affiliation:
Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

Abstract

A real-time model of a wake vortex has been developed for an engineering flight simulator, which enables studies to be undertaken into the effects of wake vortex encounters with civil transport aircraft. A brief summary of the methods used to create a vortex model and integrate it with a real-time flight simulator is presented. Tools have been developed to determine the structural loads on an aircraft during a simulated wake vortex encounter and to visualise the airframe loads. Four wake vortex encounters were flown with different pilot recovery strategies and automatic flight controls. It is clear from analysis of these results that it is difficult for a pilot to appreciate the margin of tail loading during an encounter and a prototype training display is outlined to enable pilots to fully understand the effects of rudder inputs in recovery from these events.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2010 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Crow, S.C., Stability theory for a pair of trailing vortices, AIAA J, 1970, 8, (12), pp 21722179.Google Scholar
2. In-flight separation of vertical stabilizer, American Airlines Flight 587, Airbus Industrie A300-605R, N14053, Belle Harbor, New York, USA, 12 November 2001, October 2004, National Transportation Safety Board, Aircraft Accident Report NTSB/AAR-04/04.Google Scholar
3. Spence, G.T., Le Moigne, A., Allerton, D.J. and Qin, N., Wake vortex model for real-time flight simulation based on large eddy simulation, AIAA J Aircr, March 2007, 44, (2), pp 467475.Google Scholar
4. Le Moigne, A. and Qin, N., Les with numerical dissipation for aircraft wake vortices, January 2006, AIAA Paper 2006-1258.Google Scholar
5. Allerton, D.J. and Spence, G.T., Real-time simulation of wake vortices, 2008 RAeS Spring Flight Simulation Conference, June 2008.Google Scholar
6. Reimer, H.M. and Vicroy, D.D., A preliminary study of a wake vortex encounter hazard boundary for a B737-100 airplane, April 1996, NASA TM 110223.Google Scholar
7. Gerz, T., Holzäpfel, F. and Darracq, D., Commercial aircraft wake vortices, Prog in Aerospace Sci, 2002, 38, (3), pp 181208.Google Scholar
8. Holzäpfel, F., Gerz, T. and Baumann, R., The turbulent decay of trailing vortex pairs in stably stratified environments, Aerospace Sci and Tech, 2001, 5, (2), pp 95108.Google Scholar
9. Moet, H., Darracq, D., Laporte, F. and Corjon, A., Investigation of ambient turbulence effects on vortex evolution using LES, January 2000, AIAA Paper 2000-0756.Google Scholar
10. Cignoni, P., Costanza, D., Montani, C., Rocchini, C. and Scopigno, R., Simplification of tetrahedral meshes with accurate error evaluation, 2000, Proceedings of IEEE Visualization 2000, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2000, pp 8592.Google Scholar
11. Bentley, J.L., Multidimensional binary search trees in database applications, IEEE Transactions on Software Eng, 1979, 5, (4), pp 333340.Google Scholar
12. Samet, H., The quadtree and related hierarchical data structures, ACM Computing Surveys, 1984, 16, (2), pp 187260.Google Scholar
13. ESDU Engineering Sciences Data, Aerodynamics Sub-Series, ESDU International Ltd.Google Scholar
14. Lomax, T.L., Structural Loads Analysis for Commercial Transport Aircraft: Theory and Practice, 1996, AIAA Education Series.Google Scholar