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Previously part of a larger OEM, Spirit AeroSystems became a standalone company 5 years ago and is currently a Tier One supplier of aerostructures. Products include fuselage components, wing structures, engine struts and nacelles, and at the request of various OEMs, fully stuffed fuselages and podded engines where all of the wiring, heating, duct work, etc. is installed prior to delivery. While operating as part of the Propulsion Structures and Systems Business Unit, the design, testing and analysis services provided by the acoustics lab potentially impact all programs at all stages of development because of increasing noise regulations and material certification requirements for implementation in high noise environments.

Dynamic interactions of pairs of co-rotating vortex filaments, typical of those emanating from wing tips and flap tips are studied. Time history of the motion of individual filaments has been obtained in a water tunnel using an optical method. It is demonstrated that before their merger, co-rotating vortex filaments tend to oscillate along preferred directions. Also, the motion appears to be unstable with increasing amplitude over a wide range of frequencies. These conclusions are shown to be consistent with analytical predictions. It is also shown that the merger location correlates well with the vortex strength. Comparisons with analytical and computational results are provided where appropriate.