Direct and adjoint global stability analysis of turbulent transonic flows over a NACA0012 profile

In this work, various turbulent solutions of the two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional compressible Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations are analyzed using global stability theory. This analysis is motivated by the onset of flow unsteadiness (Hopf bifurcation) for transonic buffet conditions where moderately high Reynolds numbers and compressible effects must be considered. The buffet phenomenon involves a complex interaction between the separated flow and a shock wave. The efficient numerical methodology presented in this paper predicts the critical parameters, namely, the angle of attack and Mach and Reynolds numbers beyond which the onset of flow unsteadiness appears. The geometry, a NACA0012 profile, and flow parameters selected reproduce situations of practical interest for aeronautical applications. The numerical computation is performed in three steps. First, a steady baseflow solution is obtained; second, the Jacobian matrix for the RANS equations based on a finite volume discretization is computed; and finally, the generalized eigenvalue problem is derived when the baseflow is linearly perturbed. The methodology is validated predicting the 2D Hopf bifurcation for a circular cylinder under laminar flow condition. This benchmark shows good agreement with the previous published computations and experimental data. In the transonic buffet case, the baseflow is computed using the Spalart–Allmaras turbulence model and represents a mean flow where the high frequency content and length scales of the order of the shear‐layer thickness have been averaged. The lower frequency content is assumed to be decoupled from the high frequencies, thus allowing a stability analysis to be performed on the low frequency range. In addition, results of the corresponding adjoint problem and the sensitivity map are provided for the first time for the buffet problem. Finally, an extruded three‐dimensional geometry of the NACA0012 airfoil, where all velocity components are considered, was also analyzed as a Triglobal stability case, and the outcoming results were compared to the previous 2D limited model, confirming that the buffet onset is well detected. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unsteady CFD computations using vertex‐centered finite volumes for unstructured grids on Graphics Processing Units

This paper presents a Navier–Stokes solver for steady and unsteady turbulent flows on unstructured/hybrid grids, with triangular and quadrilateral elements, which was implemented to run on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). The paper focuses on programming issues for efficiently porting the CPU code to the GPU, using the CUDA language. Compared with cell‐centered schemes, the use of a vertex‐centered finite volume scheme on unstructured grids increases the programming complexity since the number of nodes connected by edge to any other node might vary a lot. Thus, delicate GPU memory handling is absolutely necessary in order to maximize the speed‐up of the GPU implementation with respect to the Fortran code running on a single CPU core. The developed GPU‐enabled code is used to numerically study steady and unsteady flows around the supercritical airfoil OAT15A, by laying emphasis on the transonic buffet phenomenon. The computations were carried out on NVIDIA's Ge‐Force GTX 285 graphics cards and speed‐ups up to ～46 × (on a single GPU, with double precision arithmetic) are reported. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Frequency lock-in phenomenon for oscillating airfoils in buffeting flows

Navier-Stokes based computer simulations are conducted to determine the aerodynamic flow field response that is observed for a NACA0012 airfoil that undergoes prescribed harmonic oscillation in transonic buffeting flows, and also in pre-buffet flow conditions. Shock buffet is the term for the self-sustained shock oscillations that are observed for certain combinations of Mach number and steady mean flow angle of attack even in the absence of structural motion. The shock buffet frequencies are typically on the order of the elastic structural frequencies, and therefore may be a contributor to transonic aeroelastic response phenomena, including limit-cycle oscillations. Numerical simulations indicate that the pre-shock-buffet flow natural frequency increases with mean angle of attack, while the flow damping decreases and approaches zero at the onset of buffet. Airfoil harmonic heave motions are prescribed to study the interaction between the flow fields induced by the shock buffet and airfoil motion, respectively. At pre-shock-buffet conditions the flow response is predominantly at the airfoil motion frequency, with some smaller response at multiplies of this frequency. At shock buffet conditions, a key effect of prescribed airfoil motions on the buffeting flow is to create the possibility of a lock-in phenomenon, in which the shock buffet frequency is synchronized to the prescribed airfoil motion frequency for certain combinations of airfoil motion frequencies and amplitudes. Aerodynamic gain-phase models for the lock-in region, as well as for the pre-shock-buffet conditions are suggested, and also a possible relationship between the lock-in mechanism and limit-cycle oscillation is discussed.     

超临界翼型的跨音速抖振特性

以二维非定常N-S方程为基本方程,计算跨音速翼型升力系数的时间历程.根据升力系数的脉动量急剧上升的起始点确定抖振起始边界,以超临界机翼DFVLR-R2和传统翼型NACA0012为研究对象,研究了两种翼型的抖振特性,计算结果表明,在超临界翼型的设计马赫数附近,超临界翼型具有良好的抖振特性.     

雷诺数效应对翼型抖振特性的影响

飞行器抖振是一种非线性气动弹性问题,当飞行器进入抖振阶段时,将会对飞行器的性能产生严重影响。而在跨声速条件下,激波附面层相互作用会诱导机翼抖振。本文开展了跨声速条件下翼型抖振特性雷诺数效应的实验研究,揭示了翼型跨声速抖振起始迎角、激波运动前缘边界、频谱特性、抖振频率与雷诺数变化的基本规律。结论如下:雷诺数变化会导致抖振起始边界的改变,对抖振起始迎角下的功率谱密度峰值有明显影响;随着雷诺数的增大,激波运动的前缘后移。雷诺数变化对抖振频率有明显影响,随着马赫数增大,雷诺数效应增强。     

Self-sustained oscillations and bifurcations of transonic flow past simple airfoils

A turbulent flow past two symmetric airfoils, whose bow and aft portions are circular arcs, whereas midparts are flat, is studies numerically. The amplitude of lift coefficient oscillations versus the free-stream Mach number M _∞ is analyzed at zero angle of attack. Ranges of M _∞ in which there exist flow bifurcations are determined. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 6, pp. 37–44, November–December, 2008     

Turbulence model and numerical scheme assessment for buffet computations

The prediction of shock‐induced oscillations over transonic rigid airfoils is important for a better understanding of the buffeting phenomenon. The unsteady resolution of the Navier–Stokes equations is performed with various transport‐equation turbulence models in which corrections are added for non‐equilibrium flows. The lack of numerical efficiency due to the CFL stability condition is circumvented by the use of a wall law approach and a dual time stepping method. Moreover, various numerical schemes are used to try and be independent of the numerical discretization. Comparisons are made with the experimental results obtained for the supercritical RA16SC1 airfoil. They show the interest in using the SST correction or realizability conditions to get correct predictions of the frequency, amplitude and pressure fluctuations over the airfoil. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

URANS Computations of Shock-Induced Oscillations Over 2D Rigid Airfoils: Influence of Test Section Geometry

The present article deals with recent numerical results from on-going research conducted at ONERA/DMAE regarding the validation of turbulence models for unsteady transonic flows, in which the mechanism of the shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction is important. The main goal is to predict the onset and extent of shock induced oscillations (SIO) that appear over the suction side of two-dimensional rigid airfoils and lead to the formation of unsteady separated areas. Computations are performed with the ONERA object-oriented software "elsA", using the URANS-type approach. In this approach, the unsteady mean turbulent flow is resolved using the standard Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations and closure relationships involving standard transport equation-type models without any explicit modification due to unsteadiness. Applications are provided and discussed for two different test cases, one of which is rather well documented for CFD validation and described by mean-flow, phase-averaged and fluctuating data. Results demonstrate the importance of modelling the upper and lower walls of the test section when trying to capture SIO as precisely as possible with 2D computations, even though the adaptation of wind tunnel walls had been carefully considered. Finally, turbulence validation has been performed using one- and two-transport equation-type models, one of them resulting from in-house investigations for other turbulent flows applications.