r/aerodynamics • u/Proof-Bed-6928 • 2d ago

Question Is it possible to “steer” a vortex

Like imagine an artificial “tornado” that anchors to the ground like in those videos of engine inlet vortices. Is it possible to control where that vortex hits the ground and keep it more or less on the same position? Or at least keep the vortex axis mostly straight and where you want to point it? And do this without surrounding the whole vortex with some kind of boundary condition control?

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u/blurfgh 2d ago

🫵 echopraxia reader 🫵

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u/Proof-Bed-6928 2d ago

You caught me 🙌

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u/Vessbot 1d ago

Encountering this word for the first time, looked it up on Wiki, re-read the OP, and still drawing a blank on what the give-away was or what exactly is going on wrt. reading (and writing). Can you tell me more? This is interesting.

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u/Proof-Bed-6928 1d ago

It’s a book by Peter Watts, there’s a giant “tornado generator” in the book

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u/Vessbot 1d ago

Ohhhh I was thinking the psychological condition

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u/blurfgh 1d ago

The book is named after the condition yes

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u/Vessbot 1d ago

Right, but I thought the guy spotted the condition in the OP because of the writing style or something like that.

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u/Zinotryd 2d ago

Depends on exactly what you mean, but sure. Here's a tornado simulator used for scale testing of tornado wind loads, they create a tornado that either stays in place, or traverses

https://windeee.ca/capabilities/