Circulation Retrieval of Wake Vortices under Rainy Conditions with an X Band Radar

Abstract

At airports, runway operation is the limiting factor for the overall throughput; specifically the fixed and overly conservative ICAO wake turbulence separation minima. The wake turbulence hazardous flows can dissipate quicker because of decay due to air turbulence or be transported out of the way on oncoming traffic by cross-wind, yet wake turbulence separation minima do not take into account wind conditions. Indeed, for safety reasons, most airports assume a worst-case scenario and use conservative separations; the interval between aircraft taking off or landing therefore often amounts to several minutes. However, with the aid of accurate wind data and precise measurements of wake vortex by radar sensors, more efficient intervals can be set, particularly when weather conditions are stable. Depending on traffic volume, these adjustments can generate capacity gains, which have major commercial benefits. This paper presents the use of Electronic scanning radar for detecting wake vortices. In this method, the raindrops Doppler spectrogram is used to retrieve the strength of the wake vortex. Numerical simulation are performed to establish an empirical model used during the retrieval method. This paper presents also the results obtained during the trials of the PARIS-CDG data set recorded from October 2014 to November 2015 with an X-band RADAR developed and deployed by THALES.