Numerical studies of the deposition of material released from fixed and rotary wing aircraft

The computer code AGDISP (AGricultural DISPersal) has been developed to predict the deposition of material released from fixed and rotary wing aircraft in a single-pass, computationally efficient manner. The formulation of the code is novel in that the mean particle trajectory and the variance about the mean resulting from turbulent fluid fluctuations are simultaneously predicted. The code presently includes the capability of assessing the influence of neutral atmospheric conditions, inviscid wake vortices, particle evaporation, plant canopy and terrain on the deposition pattern. In this report, the equations governing the motion of aerially released particles are developed, including a description of the evaporation model used. A series of case studies, using AGDISP, are included

Computing aerodynamic sound using advanced statistical turbulence theories

It is noted that the calculation of turbulence-generated aerodynamic sound requires knowledge of the spatial and temporal variation of Q sub ij (xi sub k, tau), the two-point, two-time turbulent velocity correlations. A technique is presented to obtain an approximate form of these correlations based on closure of the Reynolds stress equations by modeling of higher order terms. The governing equations for Q sub ij are first developed for a general flow. The case of homogeneous, stationary turbulence in a unidirectional constant shear mean flow is then assumed. The required closure form for Q sub ij is selected which is capable of qualitatively reproducing experimentally observed behavior. This form contains separation time dependent scale factors as parameters and depends explicitly on spatial separation. The approximate forms of Q sub ij are used in the differential equations and integral moments are taken over the spatial domain. The velocity correlations are used in the Lighthill theory of aerodynamic sound by assuming normal joint probability

Atmospheric-wake vortex interactions

The interactions of a vortex wake with a turbulent stratified atmosphere are investigated with the computer code WAKE. It is shown that atmospheric shear, turbulence, and stratification can provide the dominant mechanisms by which vortex wakes decay. Computations included the interaction of a vortex wake with a viscous ground plane. The observed phenomenon of vortex bounce is explained in terms of secondary vorticity produced on the ground. This vorticity is swept off the ground and advected about the vortex pair, thereby altering the classic hyperbolic trajectory. The phenomenon of the solitary vortex is explained as an interaction of a vortex with crosswind shear. Here, the vortex having the sign opposite that of the sign of the vorticity in the shear is dispersed by a convective instability. This instability results in the rapid production of turbulence which in turn disperses the smoke marking the vortex

Vortex interactions and decay in aircraft wakes

The dynamic interaction of aircraft wake vortices was investigated using both inviscid and viscous models. For the viscous model, a computer code was developed using a second-order closure model of turbulent transport. The phenomenon of vortex merging which results in the rapid aging of a vortex wake was examined in detail. It was shown that the redistribution of vorticity during merging results from both convective and diffusive mechanisms

Anaerobic oxidation of thiosulfate to tetrathionate by obligately heterotrophic bacteria, belonging to the Pseudomonas stutzeri group

A number of strains of heterotrophic bacteria were isolated from various environments on the basis of their potential to oxidize inorganic sulfur compounds to tetrathionate. The isolates were screened for the ability to oxidize thiosulfate under denitrifying conditions. Many of them could grow anaerobically with acetate and nitrate, and eight strains could oxidize thiosulfate to tetrathionate under the same conditions. In batch cultures with acetate as carbon and energy source, most active anaerobic thiosulfate oxidation occurred with N2O as electron acceptor. The level of anaerobic thiosulfate-oxidizing activity in cultures and cell suspensions supplied with nitrate correlated with the activity of nitrite reductase in cell suspensions. Some strains converted thiosulfate to tetrathionate equally well with nitrite, nitrate and N2O as electron accepters. Others functioned best with N2O during anaerobic thiosulfate oxidation. The latter strains appeared to have a lower level of nitrite reductase activity. Thiosulfate oxidation under anaerobic conditions was much slower than in the presence of oxygen, and was obviously controlled by the availability of organic electron donor. The strains had DNA-DNA similarity levels higher than 30%. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of four selected isolates showed their affiliation to specific genomovars of Pseudomonas stutzeri and the proposed new species, Pseudomonas balearica. As shown by 16S rRNA sequence analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization, the previously misnamed 'Flavobacterium lutescans' (ATCC 27951) is also a P. stutzeri strain which can oxidize thiosulfate to tetrathionate aerobically and anaerobically in the presence of N2O. The data suggest that tetrathionate-forming heterotrophic bacteria, in particular those belonging to the P. stutzeri 'superspecies', can play a much mole significant role in the biogeochemical cycles than was previously recognized. (C) 1999 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved