Computational aerodynamics : advances and challenges

Computational aerodynamics, which complement more expensive empirical approaches, are critical for developing aerospace vehicles. During the past three decades, computational aerodynamics capability has improved remarkably, following advances in computer hardware and algorithm development. However, most of the fundamental computational capability realised in recent applications is derived from earlier advances, where specific gaps in solution procedures have been addressed only incrementally. The present article presents our view of the state of the art in computational aerodynamics and assessment of the issues that drive future aerodynamics and aerospace vehicle development. Requisite capabilities for perceived future needs are discussed, and associated grand challenge problems are presented

Large Eddy Simulations of gaseous flames in gas turbine combustion chambers

Recent developments in numerical schemes, turbulent combustion models and the regular increase of computing power allow Large Eddy Simulation (LES) to be applied to real industrial burners. In this paper, two types of LES in complex geometry combustors and of specific interest for aeronautical gas turbine burners are reviewed: (1) laboratory-scale combustors, without compressor or turbine, in which advanced measurements are possible and (2) combustion chambers of existing engines operated in realistic operating conditions. Laboratory-scale burners are designed to assess modeling and funda- mental flow aspects in controlled configurations. They are necessary to gauge LES strategies and identify potential limitations. In specific circumstances, they even offer near model-free or DNS-like LES computations. LES in real engines illustrate the potential of the approach in the context of industrial burners but are more difficult to validate due to the limited set of available measurements. Usual approaches for turbulence and combustion sub-grid models including chemistry modeling are first recalled. Limiting cases and range of validity of the models are specifically recalled before a discussion on the numerical breakthrough which have allowed LES to be applied to these complex cases. Specific issues linked to real gas turbine chambers are discussed: multi-perforation, complex acoustic impedances at inlet and outlet, annular chambers.. Examples are provided for mean flow predictions (velocity, temperature and species) as well as unsteady mechanisms (quenching, ignition, combustion instabil- ities). Finally, potential perspectives are proposed to further improve the use of LES for real gas turbine combustor designs

Implementation and Verification of a Synthetic Eddy Method (SEM) in the Eagle3d Compressible Flow Solver

The objective of this thesis is to implement and evaluate a Synthetic Eddy Method (SEM) into the Eagle3D compressible ow solver. Both the ability of Eagle3D to resolve unsteady turbulent ow field and capability of the SEM to reproduce given Reynolds stress profiles to start realistic turbulent behavior are verified using common academic cases. Eagle3D is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver using a novel combination of a Bounded Central Differencing (BCD) scheme with Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) approximation to reduce numerical dissipation. SEM is a modern synthetic turbulence method able to reproduce an arbitrary Reynolds stresses specification on discretionary geometries while keeping computational costs low. The Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) capability of Eagle3D is evaluated using the flow over a cylinder and compared to results by ANSYS Fluent. The SEM is used to reproduce unsteady inlet conditions for channel and at plate cases and relayed into Eagle3D. Common ow parameters such as skin friction, Reynolds stresses and velocity components are compared against analytic, Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) and periodic LES to estimate the performance of this solver combination in accuracy and development length. Parametric studies of grid dependence, varying upstream Reynolds-Averaged Naiver-Stokes (RANS) data and prescribed eddy length scale are performed. Modifications to the SEM are prescribed and tested where suitable. Further studies and modifications to the SEM based on the obtained data are suggested

Large Eddy Simulation of flows in industrial compressors: a path from 2015 to 2035

A better understanding of turbulent unsteady flows is a necessary step towards a breakthrough in the design of modern compressors. Due to high Reynolds numbers and very complex geometry, the flow that develops in such industrial machines is extremely hard to predict. At this time, the most popular method to simulate these flows is still based on a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. However there is some evidence that this formalism is not accurate for these components, especially when a description of time-dependent turbulent flows is desired. With the increase in computing power, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) emerges as a promising technique to improve both knowledge of complex physics and reliability of flow solver predictions. The objective of the paper is thus to give an overview of the current status of LES for industrial compressor flows as well as to propose future research axes regarding the use of LES for compressor design. While the use of wall-resolved LES for industrial multistage compressors at realistic Reynolds number should not be ready before 2035, some possibilities exist to reduce the cost of LES, such as wall-modelling and the adaptation of the phase lag condition. This paper also points out the necessity to combine LES to techniques able to tackle complex geometries. Indeed LES alone, i.e. without prior knowledge of such flows for grid construction or the prohibitive yet ideal use of fully homogeneous meshes to predict compressor flows, is quite limited today

Adaptive Embedded LES of the NASA Hump

A scheme for adaptive embedded LES is proposed which automatically determines boundaries for LES regions in a hybrid LES-RANS computation, with the goal of minimizing the LES part of the computation for maximum accuracy with minimum cost. The model-invariant hybrid formulation enables this scheme through greater flexibility in the placement of RANS-LES transitions. An adaptive embedded large-eddy simulation is carried out for the NASA hump test case and adaptive meshing is added to show how additional adaptive features may be controlled by the adaptive hybrid scheme

A non-body conformal grid method for simulations of laminar and turbulent flows with a compressible large eddy simulation solver

A non-body conformal grid method for simulation of laminar and turbulent flows within complex geometries is developed and incoporated into a compressible large eddy simulation (LES) solver. The underlying finite volume solver for the filtered compressible Navier-Stokes equations is based on a second-order dual-time step approach with preconditioning for low Mach number flow simulations. The time marching was done with an implicit lower-upper symmetric-Gauss-Seidel (LU-SGS) scheme. The small scale motions were modeled by a dynamic subgrid-scale (SGS) model. The code was developed in a multiblock framework and parallelized using the message passing interface (MPI). To satisfy the boundary conditions on an arbitrary immersed interface, the velocity field at the grid points near the interface is reconstructed locally without smearing the sharp interface. To treat the moving interface situation, a field extension strategy is used which resolved the velocity and pressure issues when a moving solid grid point becomes a fluid grid point. A variety of laminar and turbulent flow problems are considered to validate the accuracy and range of applicability of the method. In particular, flow over a circular cylinder with different Reynolds numbers and Mach numbers is simulated and an order of accuracy analysis is conducted. A turbulent pipe flow is also solved with a Cartesian grid and good agreement of the simulation results with experimental results validates the capability of the current solver in turbulent flow simulations. Then a rectangular duct containing a cylindrical rod is studied and the simulation results are compared to those obtained from body-fitted grid methods. Next, turbulent heated flow simulations with a non-body conformal grid method are discussed. Laminar flow over a heated cylinder with different Reynolds numbers and temperature ratios is simulated first. The characteristic flow properties such as drag and lift coefficients, Strouhal number and Nusselt number are compared to experimental results. Then the simulation of heated turbulent pipe flow with an isoflux boundary condition is presented using the non-body conformal grids. To demonstrate the applicability of the non-body conformal grid method in compressible flows, transonic and supersonic flow over a cylinder are simulated and qualitative results are studied. Next flow over an oscillating cylinder is studied to demonstrate the capability in solving flow over moving objects. Finally, as a representative of complex geometry flow, subchannel flow surrounding two cylindrical rods in a rectangular duct is studied and the simulation results are compared to simulation and experimental results by other investigators

Progress and challenges in large eddy simulation of gas turbine flows

Gas turbine flows are complex and very difficult to be predicted accurately not only due to that they are inherently unsteady but also because the presence of many complex flow phenomena such as transition, separation, substantial secondary flow, combustion and so on. Those complex flow phenomena cannot be captured accurately by the traditional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and Unsteady RANS (URANS) methods although they have been the main numerical tools for computing gas turbine flows in the past decades due to their computational efficiency and reasonable accuracy. Therefore, the desire for greater accuracy has led to the development and application of high fidelity numerical simulation tools for gas turbine flows. Two such tools available are Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) which captures directly all details of turbulent flow in space and time, and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) which computes large scale motions of turbulent flow directly in space and time while the small scale motions are modelled. DNS is computationally very expensive and even with the available most powerful supercomputers today or in the foreseeable future it is still prohibitive to apply DNS for gas turbine flows. LES is the most promising simulation tool which has already reasonably widely used for gas turbine flows. This paper will very briefly review first the applications of LES in turbomachinery flows and then focus on two gas turbine combustor related flow cases, summarizing the current status of LES applications in gas turbines and pointing out the challenges that we are facing.Gas turbine flows are complex and very difficult to be predicted accurately not only due to that they are inherently unsteady but also because the presence of many complex flow phenomena such as transition, separation, substantial secondary flow, combustion and so on. Those complex flow phenomena cannot be captured accurately by the traditional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and Unsteady RANS (URANS) methods although they have been the main numerical tools for computing gas turbine flows in the past decades due to their computational efficiency and reasonable accuracy. Therefore, the desire for greater accuracy has led to the development and application of high fidelity numerical simulation tools for gas turbine flows. Two such tools available are Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) which captures directly all details of turbulent flow in space and time, and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) which computes large scale motions of turbulent flow directly in space and time while the small scale motions are modelled. DNS is computationally very expensive and even with the available most powerful supercomputers today or in the foreseeable future it is still prohibitive to apply DNS for gas turbine flows. LES is the most promising simulation tool which has already reasonably widely used for gas turbine flows. This paper will very briefly review first the applications of LES in turbomachinery flows and then focus on two gas turbine combustor related flow cases, summarizing the current status of LES applications in gas turbines and pointing out the challenges that we are facing

On the numerical simulation of compressible flows

In this thesis, numerical tools to simulate compressible flows in a wide range of situations are presented. It is intended to represent a step forward in the scientific research of the numerical simulation of compressible flows, with special emphasis on turbulent flows with shock wave-boundary-layer and vortex interactions. From an academic point of view, this thesis represents years of study and research by the author. It is intended to reflect the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the years that at the end demonstrate the author’s capability of conducting a scientific research, from the beginning to the end, present valuable genuine results, and potentially explore the possibility of real world applications with tangible social and economic benefits. Some of the applications that can take advantage of this thesis are: marine and offshore engineering, combustion in engines or weather forecast, aerodynamics (automotive and aerospace industry), biomedical applications and many others. Nevertheless, the present work is framed in the field of compressible aerodynamics and gas combustion with a clear target: aerial transportation and engine technology. The presented tools allow for studies on sonic boom, drag, noise and emissions reduction by means of geometrical design and flow control techniques on subsonic, transonic and supersonic aerodynamic elements such as wings, airframes or engines. Results of such studies can derive in new and ecologically more respectful, quieter vehicles with less fuel consumption and structural weight reduction. We start discussing the motivation for this thesis in chapter one, which is placed into the upcoming second generation of supersonic aircraft that surely will be flying the skies in no more than 20 years. Then, compressible flows are defined and the equations of motion and their mathematical properties are presented. Navier Stokes equations arise from conservation laws, and the hyperbolic properties of the Euler equations will be used to develop numerical schemes. Chapter two is focused on the numerical simulation with Finite Volumes techniques of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical schemes commonly found in the literature are presented, and a unique hybrid-scheme is developed that is able to accurately predict turbulent flows in all the compressible regimens (subsonic, transonic and supersonic). The scheme is applied on the flow around a NACA0012 airfoil at several Mach numbers, showing its ability to be used as a design tool in order to reduce drag or sonic boom, for example. At subsonic regimens, results show excellent agreement with reference data, which allowed the study of the same case at transonic conditions. We were able to observe the buffet phenomenon on the airfoil, which consists of shock-waves forming and disappearing, causing a dramatic loss of aerodynamic performance in a highly unsteady process. To perform a numerical simulation, however, boundary conditions are also required in addition to numerical schemes. A new set of boundary conditions is introduced in chapter three. They are developed for three-dimensional turbulent flows with or without shocks. They are tested in order to assess its suitability. Results show good performance for three-dimensional turbulent flows with additional advantages with respect traditional boundary conditions formulations. Unfortunately, compressible flows usually require high amounts of computational power to its simulation. High speeds and low viscosity result in very thin boundary layers and small turbulent structures. The grid required in order to capture this flow structures accurately often results in unfeasible simulations. This fact motivates the use of turbulent models and wall models in order to overcome this restriction. Turbulent models are discussed in chapter four. The Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approach is compared with Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) with and without wall modeling (WMLES). A transonic diffuser is simulated in order to evaluate its performance. Results showed the ability of RANS methods to capture shock-wave positions accurately, but failing in the detached part of the flow. LES, on the other hand, was not able to reproduce shock-waves positions accurately due to the lack of precision on the shock wave-boundary-layer interaction (SBLI). The use of a wall model, nevertheless, allowed to overcome this issue, resulting in an accurate method to capture shock-waves and also flow separation. More research on WMLES is encouraged for future studies on SBLIs, since they allow three-dimensional unsteady studies with feasible levels of computational requirements. With all these tools, we are able to solve at this point any problem concerned with the aerodynamic design of high-speed vehicles which were identified in previous paragraphs. Finally, multi-component flows are discussed in chapter five. Our hybrid scheme is upgraded to deal with multi-component gases and tested in several cases. We demonstrate that with a redefinition of the discontinuity sensor multi-components flows can be solved with low levels of diffusion while being stable in the presence of high scalar gradients. Because of the work of this thesis, a complete numerical approach to the numerical simulation of compressible turbulent multi-component flows with or without discontinuities in a wide range of Reynolds and Mach numbers is proposed and validated. Direct applications can be found in civil aviation (subsonic and supersonic) and engine operation.En aquesta tesis es presenten tècniques numèriques per a la simulació de compressibles en una gran varietat de situacions. L’objectiu és el de donar un pas endavant en la investigació científica de la simulació numèrica de fluids compressibles, amb especial èmfasi en fluxos turbulents amb interaccions entre ones de xoc, capa límit y vòrtex. Algunes de les aplicacions que es poden beneficiar d’aquesta investigació són: enginyeria marítima, combustió en motors, predicció meteorològica, aerodinàmica en la industria automotriu y aeronàutica, aplicacions biomèdiques y moltes altres. Tot i així, aquest treball s’emmarca en el camp de l’aerodinàmica compressible y la combustió de gasos amb un clar objectiu: el transport aeri i la tecnologia de motors. Les ferramentes presentades permeten l’estudi del sònic boom, resistència aerodinàmica, soroll y reducció d’emissions mitjançant el disseny geomètric i tècniques de control de flux en elements aerodinàmics tals com ales o motors en règims subsònics, transsònics i supersònics. Els resultats de tals estudis poden donar lloc a nous vehicles més ecològics, respectuosos amb el medi ambient, més silenciosos, amb menor peso estructural i menys consum de combustible.Postprint (published version

Large-Eddy Simulation: Current Capabilities, Recommended Practices, and Future Research

This paper presents the results of an activity by the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Working Group of the AIAA Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee to (1) address the current capabilities of LES, (2) outline recommended practices and key considerations for using LES, and (3) identify future research needs to advance the capabilities and reliability of LES for analysis of turbulent flows. To address the current capabilities and future needs, a survey comprised of eleven questions was posed to LES Working Group members to assemble a broad range of perspectives on important topics related to LES. The responses to these survey questions are summarized with the intent not to be a comprehensive dictate on LES, but rather the perspective of one group on some important issues. A list of recommended practices is also provided, which does not treat all aspects of a LES, but provides guidance on some of the key areas that should be considered

Prediction of Turbulent Temperature Fluctuations in Hot Jets

Large-eddy simulations were used to investigate turbulent temperature fluctuations and turbulent heat flux in hot jets. A high-resolution finite-difference Navier-Stokes solver, WRLES, was used to compute the flow from a 2-inch round nozzle. Several different flow conditions, consisting of different jet Mach numbers and temperature ratios, were examined. Predictions of mean and fluctuating velocities were compared to previously obtained particle image velocimetry data. Predictions of mean and fluctuating temperature were compared to new data obtained using Raman spectroscopy. Based on the good agreement with experimental data for the individual quantities, the combined quantity turbulent heat flux was examined