Case Studies in Modeling Cruise-Generated Trailing Vortices

Abstract

Trailing vortices from jet transport aircraft in high altitude cruising flight, have been measured in high spatiotemporal detail, by a research jet operated by the National Research Council Canada. The vortex locations and circulations, 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, thermal stratification and turbulence have been established. Selected cases from the measured data have been used to evaluate two versions of the Probabilistic 2-Phase (P2P) wake vortex prediction model. While the default 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 model versions for onboard wake vortex prediction and warning during cruise have been discussed.