Prospects for destructive self-induced interactions in a vortex pair

Abstract

The vortex wakes of large transport aircraft can pose a hazard to smaller following aircraft in the vicinity of airports during landing and takeoff operations if certain separation guidelines are not observed. In order to reduce the hazard potential, and thereby the separation distances, efforts are being made to find more rapid wake-dissipation mechanisms. In this paper, numerical simulations are made of the three-dimensional timedependent instabilities that might be initiated in a vortex pair by sinusoidal displacements of the filaments. The objective of the study is to find those displacements and phase angles that produce the most rapid destruction of the vortices. It is concluded that, of the wave patterns tried on the one pair of wake filaments, the only instability mode that leads to destructive interactions of the vortices is the Scorer-Crow process.