Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-pfhbr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T02:23:11.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

On an analytical model of wake vortex separation of aircraft

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2016

L.M.B.C. Campos*
Affiliation:
Center for Aeronautical and Space Science and Technology (CCTAE) IDMEC/LAETA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
J.M.G. Marques*
Affiliation:
CCTAE and Universidade Atlântica, Oeiras, Portugal

Abstract

A theory is presented on the effect of wake turbulence of a leading aircraft on the roll stability of a following aircraft, leading to a simple formula for the safe separation distance between the two aircraft that provides estimates of aircraft separation distances comparable to existing empirical regulations, based on experience. The formula includes the effects of flight and atmospheric conditions, and the characteristics of the leading and following aircraft; it applies to similar or dissimilar aircraft, and it indicates the parameters and conditions leading to increasing or decreasing separation. The formula is applied not only to the three International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) categories of aircraft (light, medium and heavy, respectively, Cessna Citation, B737 and B747) but also to ‘special’ aircraft requiring larger separation distance (Boeing 757) and to the world’s largest airliner (Airbus A380).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2016 

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. Rules of the Air and Air Traffic Services, 13th edition, 1996, Section 16: Wake Turbulence categorization of aircraft and increased longitudinal separation minima, International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal, Canada.Google Scholar
2. Jackson, P. (Ed) Jane´s All-the-World’s Aircraft, MacDonald and Jane’s, London, UK.Google Scholar
3. Thomas, J. Challenges of the A3XX, Air & Space Europe, 2000, 2, (1), pp 8691.Google Scholar
4. Spalart, P.R. Airplane trailing vortices Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 1998, 30, pp 107138.Google Scholar
5. Rossow, V.J. Lift-generated vortex wakes of subsonic transport aircraft, Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 1999, 35, pp 507660.Google Scholar
6. Spreiter, J.R. and Sacks, A.H. The rolling up of the trailing vortex sheet and its effects on the downwash behind wings, J. Aerosol Science, 1951, pp 21–32.Google Scholar
7. Ginevsky, A.B. and Zhelannikov, A.I. Vortex Wakes of Aircraft, 2009, Springer, Heidelberg, Germany.Google Scholar
8. Etkin, B. Dynamics of Flight Stability and Control, 1974, Wiley, New York, New York, US.Google Scholar
9. Campos, L.M.B.C. and Marques, J.M.G. On wake vortex response for all combinations of five classes of aircraft, Aeronautical J., June 2004, Paper 2718, 108, (1084), pp 295310.Google Scholar
10. McRuer, J. and Askhenas, S. Aircraft Stability and Control, 1986, McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, US.Google Scholar
11. Perry, R.R., Hinton, D.A. and Stuever, R.A. NASA wake vortex research for aircraft spacing, AIAA paper, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12. Hinton, D.A. An Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) for dynamical wake vortex spacing criteria, 78th Fluid Mechanics Panel & Symposium on the Characterization and modification of wakes from lifting vehicles in fluids, 1996, Trondheim, Norway.Google Scholar
13. Hinton, D.A., Charnock, J.K., Bagwell, D.R. and Grigsby, D. NASA Aircraft vortex spacing system development status, AIAA 37th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 1999, Reno, Nevada.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Shen, S., Ding, F., Han, J., Lin, Y.-L., Arya, S.P. and Proctor, F.H. Numerical modeling studies of wake vortices: Real case simulations, AIAA Paper 99-0755, 37th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 1999, Reno, Nevada, US.Google Scholar
15. Spalart, P.R. Detached-Eddy simulation, Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 2009, 41, pp 181202.Google Scholar
16. Sarpkaya, T. Trailing vortices in homogeneous and density-stratified media, J. Fluid Mechanics, 1983, 136, pp 85109.Google Scholar
17. Burham, D.C. Effect of ground wind shear on aircraft trailing vortices, AIAA J., 1972, 10, pp 1114.Google Scholar
18. Crow, S.C. Stability theory for a pair of trailing vortices, AIAA J., 1970, 8, pp 2172.Google Scholar
19. Tsai, C.-Y. and Widnall, S.E. The stability of short waves on a straight vortex filament in a weak internally imposed strain field, J. Fluid Mechanics, 1976, 73, pp 721733.Google Scholar
20. Crow, S.C. and Bate, E.R. Lifespan of trailing vortices in a turbulent atmosphere, AIAA J. Aircraft, 1976, 13, p 476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21. Greene, G.C. An approximate model of vortex decay in the atmosphere, AIAA J, Aircraft, 1986, 23, (7), pp 566–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22. Sarpkaya, T. and Daly, J.J. Effect of ambient turbulence on trailing vortices, AIAA J. Aircraft, 1987, 24, pp 339404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. Campbell, S.D., Dasey, J.J., Freebart, R.E., Heinrichs, R.M., Matthews, M.P., Perras, G.H. and Rowe, G.S. Wake vortex field measurement program at memphis, TN: Data guide, Lincoln Lab., Mass. Inst. Tech., 1977, Project Rep. NASA/L-2, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.Google Scholar
24. Batchelor, G.K. Fluid Mechanics, 1967, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.Google Scholar
25. Campos, L.M.B.C. Transcendental Representations with Applications to Solids and Fluids, 2012, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, US.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. Lighthill, M.J. An Informal Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 1986, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.Google Scholar
27. Milne-Thomson, L.M. Theoretical Aerodynamics, 1958, Dover, New York, US.Google Scholar
28. Campos, L.M.B.C. Complex Analysis with Applications to Flows and Fields, 2012, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, US.Google Scholar
29. Lamb, H. Hydrodynamics, 6th ed., 1931, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.Google Scholar
30. Carslaw, H.S. and Jaeger, J.C. Heat Conduction in Solids, 1949, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
31. Landau, L.D. and Lifschitz, E.F. Fluid Mechanics, 1953, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
32. Lighthill, M.J. Fourier Series and Generalized Functions, 1958, Cambrige University Press, Cambridge, England.Google Scholar
33. Campos, L.M.B.C. Generalized calculus with applications to matter and forces, 2013 CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, US.Google Scholar
34. Hinton, D.A. and Tatnall, C.R. A candidate vortex strength definition for application to NASA Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS), 1997, NASA TM-110343.Google Scholar
35. Stuever, R.A. Airplane data base for wake hazard definition and assessment, NASA Langley, 1995, Version 2.0.Google Scholar
36. Campos, L.M.B.C. and Marques, J.M.G. On the compensation and damping of roll induced by wake vortices, Aeronautical J., September 2014, Paper 4051, 118, (1207), pp 10391061.Google Scholar
37. SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research), http://www.sesarju.eu/.Google Scholar
38. NextGen (Next Generation Air Transportation System), https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/.Google Scholar