Aero-Optic Effects of a Wing Tip Vortex

Abstract

For an airborne optical system carried by a helicopter, aero-optic aberrations originate primarily from blade tip vortices that pass through the system field of view; these aberrations result from the reduced pressure and density in the vortex cores and the associated variations in the index-of-refraction. Using the weakly compressible model (WCM) previously developed at Notre Dame, aero-optic effects for realistic tip-vortex flows are computed using the Lamb-Oseen vortex model as well as experimental velocity fields, and compared to measured wavefronts. Scaling relations are developed that enable the prediction of the aero-optic aberrations for full-scale flight vehicles.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 07, 2010
Accession Number
ADA524132

Entities

People

  • Chris Porter
  • Eric Jumper
  • Mark Rennie

Organizations

  • University of Notre Dame

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Axial Flow
  • Boundary Layer
  • Delta Wings
  • Equations
  • Experimental Data
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Flow Fields
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Helicopter Rotors
  • Mach Number
  • Measurement
  • Pressure Gradients
  • Refractive Index
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Wing Tips

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics.
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.