The Development of a Plan for the Assessment, Improvement and Deployment of a Radar Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) for Wake Vortex Detection

This report describes the activities completed under a grant from the NASA Langley Research Center to develop a plan for the assessment, improvement, and deployment of a Radar Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) for the detection of wake vortices. A brief review is provided of existing alternative instruments for wake vortex detection. This is followed by a review of previous implementations and assessment of a RASS. As a result of this review, it is concluded that the basic features of a RASS have several advantages over other commonly used wake vortex detection and measurement systems. Most important of these features are the good fidelity of the measurements and the potential for all weather operation. To realize the full potential of this remote sensing instrument, a plan for the development of a RASS designed specifically for wake vortex detection and measurement has been prepared. To keep costs to a minimum, this program would start with the development an inexpensive laboratory-scale version of a RASS system. The new instrument would be developed in several stages, each allowing for a critical assessment of the instrument s potential and limitations. The instrument, in its initial stages of development, would be tested in a controlled laboratory environment. A jet vortex simulator, a prototype version of which has already been fabricated, would be interrogated by the RASS system. The details of the laboratory vortex would be measured using a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system. In the early development stages, the scattered radar signal would be digitized and the signal post-processed to determine how extensively and accurately the RASS could measure properties of the wake vortex. If the initial tests prove to be successful, a real-time, digital signal processing system would be developed as a component of the RASS system. At each stage of the instrument development and testing, the implications of the scaling required for a full-scale instrument would be considered. It is concluded that a RASS system, developed for the specific application of wake vortex detection, could become part of a robust Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS). This system, in turn, could contribute to Reduced Spacing Operations (RSO) in US airports and improvements in Terminal Area productivity (TAP).