Development and assessment of a Wake Vortex characterization algorithm based on a hybrid LIDAR signal processing

Abstract : Since air traffic is in constant expansion, a more efficient optimisation of the airports capacity is expected. In this context, the characterization of aircraft hazardous turbulences known as wake vortices with an operational vortex Lidar is one of the major issues for the dynamic distances separation. A study has been probed to develop a hybrid vortex algorithm , i.e that uses both the velocity envelopes and a parametric estimator in the interest of processing time as short as possible. The aim is to make this algorithm exploitable for operational projects. That is why a methodology has been set up to evaluate its precision and its robustness. The results of tests on simulated scenarios of different aircraft vortices and different weather conditions show that this algorithm is able to localize precisely wake vortices and to estimate accurately their circulation in a short time.