Case Studies in Modelling Cruise-Generated Trailing Vortices

Abstract

Trailing vortices from jet transport aircraft in high altitude cruising flight, have been measured in high spatiotemporal detail, by an NRC research jet. The vortex locations, descent rate and vortex core thermodynamic, dynamic, transport and spatial scale characteristics were derived. Also, from these measurements, the background atmospheric state properties of pressure, wind structure, temperature, potential temperature, thermal stratification and turbulence have been established. Thereafter, two versions of the Probabilistic 2-Phase wake vortex prediction model P2P have been applied to the cases. While the established P2P version uses ground-based measurement data to calibrate its probabilistic envelopes, the runtime optimized airborne version P2Pa uses uncertainties of all relevant impact parameters to construct the probabilistic envelopes. Flight and model data have been compared and the suitability of the P2P models for onboard wake vortex prediction and warning during cruise have been discussed.