Aerodynamic Flow Simulation
Author(s)
R. W. Derksen & J. Rimmer
Abstract
This paper reports our experience of applying a vortex cloud model to simulate
the flow over airfoil sections at low-Reynolds numbers. Low-Reynolds number
aerodynamics has become increasingly important of late due to interest in the
development of unmanned aerial vehicles. The current state-of-the-art consists
of a good base of modern experimental data, but relies on simulation methods
based on high-Reynolds number experience. Vortex cloud models are numerical
flow simulation methods that are based on inviscid flow tools. The method
continuously injects many free vortices within the flow field and tracks their
convection with time. The convective velocity is determined from the inviscid
velocity component due to any bodies within the flow field, all free vortices, and
a random component. The random component of the velocity field introduces a
viscous effect and its value is scaled to the Reynolds number. Vortex cloud
models are believed to be capable of modelling viscous flows and should be able
to model separated flow without introducing special methods. We will provide
an assessment of the predicted flow for a range of angles of attack for a selected set of airfoils when compared to the very good low-Reynolds number airfoil datacompiled by Selig and his co-workers.
Keywords: aerodynamics, vortex cloud models, panel methods.
1 Introduction
The development of aerodynamic flow simulation methods has a substantial
history that demonstrates a creative intellectual effort to overcome the difficulties
inherent to the governing equations of fluid mechanics. Early efforts at
simulating aerodynamic flows were limited by our inability to obtain analytical
solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations to all but a few idealized examples.
Keywords
aerodynamics, vortex cloud models, panel methods.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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