Evolution of vortices in the wake of an ARJ21 airplane: Application of the lift-drag model

Wake separation is crucial to aircraft landing safety and is an important factor in airport operational efficiency. The near-ground evolution characteristics of wake vortices form the foundation of the wake separation system design. In this study, we analysed the near-ground evolution of vortices in the wake of a domestic aircraft ARJ21 initialised by the lift-drag model using large eddy simulations based on an adaptive mesh. Evolution of wake vortices formed by the main wing, flap and horizontal tail was discussed in detail. The horizontal tail vortices are the weakest and dissipate rapidly, whereas the flap vortices are the strongest and induce the tip vortex to merge with them. The horizontal tail and flap of an ARJ21 do not significantly influence the circulation evolution, height change and movement trajectory of the wake vortices. The far-field evolution of wake vortices can therefore be analysed using the conventional wake vortex model.