ABSTRACT CTS-9422432 ROCKWELL LEHIGH The encounter of vortices with airfoils, blades and cylinders produces transient loading, flow-induced vibration, and noise generation. Basic types of vortices include: trailing (aircraft) vortices; microburst (wind shear) vortices; vortices from turbomachinery, wind turbine and helicopter blades; and vortices from heat exchanger tubes and raisers of ocean structures. The aim of this investigation is to determine the generic features of vortex-body interactions, when there is a defined motion of the body relative to the arrival of the incident vortex. Recently developed techniques of high-image-density particle image velocimetry will provide highly-resolved images of the instantaneous flow structure. These images will be interpreted using theoretical concepts that allow classification of the key physics of the instantaneous flow patterns. In turn, this knowledge of the flow patterns will provide insight into the loading on the body surface, which serves as the source of vibration of the body and noise radiation from it. With this understanding of vortex-body encounters, it should be possible to formulate new types of control techniques or maneuver schedules that alter the physics of the vortex encounter and minimize undesirable loading.
