How plate lines influence the hazard perception of pilots during wake encounters

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Abstract

In free air aircraft wake vortices descend due to their mutually induced velocities. In ground proximity, however, they are hindered to descent, which increases the encounter risk significantly. Recent investigations showed that vortex decay in ground proximity can be accelerated by installing a series of plates in lines perpendicular to the flight direction in front of the runway (so-called plate lines). A previous encounter simulation study showed that the accelerated vortex decay due to the presence of a plate line leads to a reduced aircraft response during wake encounters with autopilot engaged. The present study analyses whether the plate lines also have a positive influence on the subjective hazard perception of pilots. Flow fields generated by coupled RANS-LES simulations of an A340-sized aircraft in ground effect with light crosswind with and without plate lines were implemented in a full-flight simulator of an A320-sized aircraft for different vortex ages. Simulations with pilots-in-the-loop also show a reduction of the aircraft response during manual landings as well as improved subjective pilot acceptance. Plate lines are therefore considered an effective means for either increasing flight safety with current minimum separations or maintaining the same level of safety in case of reduced minimum separations.

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• How plate lines influence the hazard perception of pilots during wake encounters. (deposited 28 Nov 2019 16:25) [Currently Displayed]