Numerical simulation of shock tube generated vortex: effect of numerics

Vortices generated at the open end of a planar shock tube are numerically simulated using the AUSM+ scheme. This scheme is known to have low numerical dissipation and therefore is suitable for capturing unsteady vortex motion. However, this low numerical dissipation can also cause oscillations in the vorticity field. Numerical experiments presented here highlight the effect of numerical dissipation on the simulated vortex, as well as the role played by turbulence models. Two turbulence models – the shear-stress-transport (SST) and its modified version for unsteady flows (SST-SAS) – are employed to observe the effect of including turbulence models in such complex flows where the vortex has an embedded shock.