Wing tip vortices dynamics with crosswind effect using the large eddy simulation (LES) theory

Abstract

In the operational control of airports it is imperative to reduce the interval between landing and takeoff operations. To this end, it is necessary to address the risk of aircraft vortex wake encounter during these operations. This paper describes a refined numerical method developed to study the phenomenon of aircraft vortex wake interaction with the airport runway, employing the Lagrangian approach with accelerated processing by parallel computing.The numerical methodology relies on a vortex method incorporating the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) theory for the two-dimensional domain.The Image method is used to guarantee the condition of impenetrability on the airport runway. In this context, open multiprocessing (OpenMP) and an algorithm that subdivides the fluid domain into box structures to expedite the calculation of eddy viscosity locally are used in a Fortran code. Quantitative and qualitative results are presented at various Reynolds numbers, in dimensionless crosswind conditions. In addition, preliminary results are presented for a Boeing 757-200, representative of practical aviation problems. The results are in agreement with experimental results and other numerical simulations. It is possible to satisfactorily capture the centroid trajectories of the vortical structures shed from the wingtips, the temporal deformation of these structures, as well as the dynamics of the primary and secondary structures in interaction with the airport runway.