Аtmospheric wind flow around the mountain landscape in the vicinity of Danang airport and flight safety issues

Wind boundary layer flow over the mountain landscape and large structures located around runways (RWs) creates coherent vortex structures (CVSs) that can cross a glideslope and airspace in the vicinity of an airport. The aircraft, encountering a vortex structure, experiences significant changes of the aerodynamic forces and moments, what is especially hazardous due to proximity to terrain. From a mathematical point of view, the solution of this problem presents a challenge due to extremely large space – time scale of the phenomenon, the lack of relevant atmospheric models, as well as comprehensive initial – boundary conditions in numerical modeling. In this paper, a composite solution is constructed: the CVSs area generation is computed in sufficient details within the framework of the grid method. Based on the data obtained in the approximation of analytical functions, an initial vortex structure is formed, the evolution and stochastics of which are modeled within the potential approximation by means of Rankine vortices. The evaluation of the forces and moments increment from the impact of vortex structures on the aircraft was carried out by the panel method using the engineering approach. As an example, the CVSs, resulting from wind flow around the mountainous area of the Son Tra Peninsula, that is located short of RWs 35R-17L and 35L-17R of Da Nang airport, are investigated. To improve the computational grids quality and verify the method of solving the boundary value problem for the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, we used the criteria based on the principle of maximum pressure, requiring Q-parameter positivity property in the vortices cores and flow separation regions. A CVS related aviation event, involving a passenger aircraft MC-21, is studied. The aircraft, after takeoff from RW 35R-17L setting the course close to the direction of the vortex wind structure axis from the Son Tra Peninsula, encountered the mountainous area CVS.

Vortex Dynamics in the Wake of Planetary Ionospheres

Measurements conducted with spacecraft around Venus and Mars have shown the presence of vortex structures in their plasma wake. Such features extend across distances of the order of a planetary radius and travel along their wake with a few minutes rotation period. At Venus, they are oriented in the counterclockwise sense when viewed from the wake. Vortex structures have also been reported from measurements conducted by the solar wind-Mars ionospheric boundary. Their position in the Venus wake varies during the solar cycle and becomes located closer to Venus with narrower width values during minimum solar cycle conditions. As a whole there is a tendency for the thickness of the vortex structures to become smaller with the downstream distance from Venus in a configuration similar to that of a corkscrew flow in fluid dynamics and that gradually becomes smaller with increasing distance downstream from an obstacle. It is argued that such process derives from the transport of momentum from vortex structures to motion directed along the Venus wake and that it is driven by the thermal expansion of the solar wind. The implications of that momentum transport are examined to stress an enhancement in the kinetic energy of particles that move along the wake after reducing the rotational kinetic energy of particles streaming in a vortex flow. As a result, the kinetic energy of plasma articles along the Venus wake becomes enhanced by the momentum of the vortex flow, which decreases its size in that direction. Particle fluxes with such properties should be measured with increasing distance downstream from Venus. Similar conditions should also be expected in vortex flows subject to pressure forces that drive them behind an obstacle.

Development of secondary vortex structures in rotor wakes

The blade tip vortex system is a crucial feature in the wake of helicopter rotors, and its correct prediction represents a major challenge in the numerical simulation of rotor flows. A common phenomenon in modern high-fidelity CFD simulations is the breakdown of the primary vortex system in hover due to secondary vortex braids. Since they are strongly influenced by the numerical settings, the degree to which these secondary vortex structures actually physically occur is still discussed and needs experimental validation. In the current work, the development of secondary vortex structures in the wake of a two-bladed rotor in hover conditions was investigated by combining stereoscopic particle image velocimetry measurements in different measurement planes and high-fidelity simulations. Secondary vortex structures were detected and quantified at different axial locations in the wake by applying an identical scheme to the measured and simulated velocity data. In agreement, it was found that the number of secondary vortices is maximum at a distance of $$0.8\,R$$ 0.8 R below the rotor. The more intense secondary vortex structures were quantitatively well captured in the simulation, whereas in the experiment a larger number of weaker vortices were detected. No distinct preferential direction of rotation was found for the secondary vortices, but they tended to develop in vortex pairs with alternating sense of rotation. A clustered occurrence of secondary vortices was observed close to the primary tip vortices, where the rolled-up blade shear layer breaks down into coherent vortex structures. Graphical abstract

Investigation on the Flow Behavior of Side Channel Pumps Based on Vortex Identification

The momentum flow exchange between the impeller and side channel produces highly turbulent flows in side channel pumps. The turbulent flows feature complex patterns of vortex structures that are partly responsible for the dissipation of energy losses and unsteady pressure pulsations. The concept of turbulent flows in side channel pumps requires a reliable vortex identification criterion to capture and predict the effects of the vortex structures on the performance. For this reason, the current study presents the application of the new Ω-criterion to a side channel pump model in comparison with other traditional methods such as Q and λ2 criteria. The 3D flow fields of the pump were obtained through unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations. Comparative studies showed that the Ω-criterion identifies the vortex of different intensities with a standard threshold, Ω=0.52. The Q and λ2 criteria required different thresholds to capture vortex of different intensities thus leads to subjective errors. Comparing the Ω-criterion intensity on different planes with the entropy losses and pressure pulsation, the longitudinal vortex plays an important role in the momentum exchange development which increases the head performance of the pump. However, the rate of exchange is impeded by the axial and radial vortices restricted in the impeller. Therefore, the impeller generates the highest entropy loss and pressure pulsation intensities which lower the output efficiency. Finally, the findings provide a fundamental background to the morphology of the vortex structures in the turbulent flows which can be dependent upon for efficiency improvement of side channel pumps.

Analysis of vortex structures formed in the winter in the atmosphere of Krasnoyarsk city

The article considers the influence of the relief, river, and urban development on the formation of vortex structures in the atmosphere and the spread of pollutants in the city of Krasnoyarsk in winter. The weak influence of urban development on the appearance of large vortex structures over the river is shown. However, in the ground layer, it significantly changes the flow pattern and determines the character of the distribution of pollutants.