Interaction of wake vortices with the ground

The aim of this study is to describe wake vortices near the ground, includi ng rebound. A calculation code solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equ ations has been developed, it allows us to compute unsteady two-dimensional flows and steady three-dimensional flows having a preferential direction. The two-dimensional version of the code allows the capture of the rebound o f the vortices near the wall as well as the creation of secondary vortices. In the three-dimensional case, the results are compared with experiments. The importance of the axial velocity is also analyzed. (C) 2000 Editions sc ientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.