Transient aerodynamics of large transverse gusts and geometrically similar maneuvers

The forces experienced by a flat plate in a transverse gust and in gust-like maneuvers have been measured for a variety of flow conditions. Sensitivity of the gust response to gust/freestream velocity ratio and angle of attack were investigated. A comparison was made between moving-model and moving-fluid cases. The simple models used here did not properly account for the change in reference frames between these cases; a more elaborate model will be needed. Particle imaging velocimetry revealed unexpected wake dynamics during the gust recovery, which indicate that vortex dynamics must be modeled in order to accurately predict the measured forces.