Robotic volumetric PIV is employed to investigate the time-averaged three-dimensional near-wake flow topology of the Ahmed body in steady cross-wind conditions. The model selected for this study is a 1:2 replica of the reference Ahmed body with 25° slant angle. The measurements are conducted at free-stream velocity of 12 m/s, resulting in a Reynolds number of 1.15×105 based on the model’s height. Yaw angles of 0°, 4° and 8° are considered. The results show that the position and strength of the C-pillar vortices are significantly influenced by the presence of a yaw angle. The yaw angles cause an increase in the strength of the windward C-pillar vortex, with a consequent upward displacement; conversely, the strength of the leeward vortex decreases, and the position of its core moves downwards and inboard. At the larger yaw angle, the presence of a ground streamwise vortex is detected which co-rotates with the windward C-pillar vortex and is located between the latter and the ground.

The flow field around a turboprop aircraft scaled model is investigated with attention to the propeller slipstream and the wing near wake. The experiments are conducted in the Low-Speed Tunnel (LST) of the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW) as part of a collaboration among DNW, Delft University of Technology and Airbus. Quantitative flow visualization in a three-dimensional measurement domain of 150 liters is made possible by the use of the recently developed Robotic Volumetric Velocimetry technique. Time averaged velocity and vorticity fields are obtained for experiments carried out at 8 m/s and 50 m/s, respectively. The measurements are conducted with high-speed acquisition in multi-frame mode at 8 m/s, and require double-frame mode at 50 m/s. The presence of three coherent streamwise vortices is revealed, emanating from the wing tip, the flap side edge and the engine nacelle, respectively. A comparison between the two measurement conditions shows limited Reynolds number effects on the wing tip vortex, and that the multi-frame measurements are superior in terms of spatial resolution and measurement accuracy.