Exploratory investigation of factors affecting the wing tip vortex

An investigation was conducted in the Langley full-scale tunnel to study some factors affecting the tip vortex of a wing. It was found that there was a pronounced effect of Reynolds number on the tip-vortex core size. An attempt was made to determine what aerodynamic parameters, such as lift, drag, or induced drag, influence the size of the vortex core, but no particular function of the parameters was found to be superior to all others. Various spoilers placed on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing to increase the boundary-layer thickness resulted in a reduction in the vorticity as determined from the tuft grid. Various solid objects placed in the vortex core downstream of the wing tip seemed to decrease the vorticity within the vortex core.