Wingtip vortices are an important phenomenon in fluid dynamics due to their complex and negative impacts. Despite numerous studies, the current understanding of the inner vortex is very limited; thus, a basis for the design of effective wingtip geometry and vortex manipulation is narrow. This work examines the structure of the trailing vortex shed from a swept-tapered wing, analogous to a commercial aircraft topology. Stereoscopic particle imaging velocimetry has been utilized to compare the vortex structure and development through several angles of attack at various downstream stations for a fixed Reynolds number (Re = 1.5 × 10⁶). After correcting for vortex meander through helicity-based spatial localization of the vortex core, relationships between the vortex core velocity/vorticity fields, core shape, and turbulent properties have been examined. Subsequently, the vortex is found to exhibit a layered structure with slow linear rates of dissipation indicative of laminar diffusion mechanisms, despite being a turbulent vortex. The turbulent kinetic energy distribution in the vortex signals that relaminarization of the inner core occurs. Consideration of the streamline curvature around the core, via examination of the local Richardson number, indicated that a laminar core structure had formed within which large-scale turbulent eddies could not contribute to the turbulent diffusion of vorticity away from the core. The normalized circulation within the vortex core has been shown to exhibit self-similar behavior typical of the fully developed axisymmetric vortices.

Low-speed wind tunnel tests of a flexible wing semi-span model have been implemented in the \(9\times 7\) ft de Havilland wind tunnel at the University of Glasgow. The main objective of this investigation is to quantify the effect of removing the traditional peniche boundary layer spacer utilised in this type of testing. Removal of the peniche results in a stand-off gap between the wind tunnel wall and the model’s symmetry plane. This offers the advantage of preventing the development of a horseshoe vortex in front of the model, at the peniche/wall juncture. The formation of the horseshoe vortex is known to influence the flow structures around the entire model and thus alters the model’s aerodynamic behaviours. To determine the influence of the stand-off gap, several gap heights have been tested for a range of angles of attack at \(Re=1.5\times 10^6\), based on the wing mean aerodynamic chord (MAC). Force platform data have been used to evaluate aerodynamic coefficients, and how they vary with stand-off heights. Stereoscopic Particle Imaging Velocimetry (sPIV) was used to examine the interaction between the tunnel boundary layer and model’s respective stand-off gap. In addition, clay and tuft surface visualisation enhanced the understanding of how local flow structures over the length of the fuselage vary with stand-off height and angle of attack. The presented results show that a stand-off gap of four-to-five times the displacement thickness of the tunnel wall boundary layer is capable of achieving a flow field around the model fuselage that is representative of what would be expected for an equivalent full-span model in free-air—this cannot be achieved with the application of a peniche.

High frequency and resolution turbulent velocity, temperature, and acoustic fluctuations have been measured using the University of Maryland’s stratospheric turbulence observation platform, FiSH (Fluctuations in the Stratosphere using Hot-wire). The objective of FiSH is to establish the capability for characterizing/profiling stratospheric turbulence. Such data represents a fundamental gap in knowledge which is necessary to aid in the prediction of boundary-layer transition for hypersonic vehicles. FiSH is equipped with hot-/cold-wire probes for unsteady velocity and temperature measurements, and a suite of various sensitivity microphones for measuring pressure fluctuations for frequencies above 10kHz. The wire probes enable the investigation of disturbance length-scales relevant to hypersonic boundary-layer instabilities; i.e. wavelengths on the order of millimeters to centimeters.