Wind tunnel characterization of the flow on the flight deck of a frigate

The work presented was performed in the experimental aerodynamics facilities at the Instituto Universitario Ignacio Da Riva belonging to the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and is part of a larger research program aimed to determining the forces appearing on the frigate for different flow conditions and to identifying interactions between ship airwakes and flight deck conditions for flight operations. Usually, the flight deck in frigates is located in the stern. As a consequence, the wind flow in the surroundings of the flight deck is highly conditioned by the airwake generated by a ship?s topside superstructures. This airwake affects signficantly the capability of air vehicles, as helicopters, to operate at open sea, particularly in the area directly downwind of the ship. The airwake is highly turbulent and full of strong vortexes. These vortexes depend on the geometry of the boat upstream the flight deck. The correct characterization of this complex ow is related to the safe operation of the aircraft and it allows setting the limits in which the deck can be operative or the helicopter operations can be certified. Both CFD and wind tunnel measurement techniques has been used to understand and improve the environment of aircraft operation and to avoid violent airwake interference that will limit the frigate capabilities. In this work, some results of an extensive wind tunnel test campaign performed in the ACLA-16 Wind Tunnel with a simplified