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Numerical study of turbulent separation bubbles with varying pressure gradient and Reynolds number

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2018

G. N. Coleman Open the ORCID record for G. N. Coleman [Opens in a new window] ,
C. L. Rumsey  and
P. R. Spalart Open the ORCID record for P. R. Spalart [Opens in a new window]
G. N. Coleman*
Affiliation:
Computational AeroSciences, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
C. L. Rumsey
Affiliation:
Computational AeroSciences, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
P. R. Spalart
Affiliation:
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Seattle, WA 98124, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: g.n.coleman@nasa.gov
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Abstract

A family of cases each containing a small separation bubble is treated by direct numerical simulation (DNS), varying two parameters: the severity of the pressure gradients, generated by suction and blowing across the opposite boundary, and the Reynolds number. Each flow contains a well-developed entry region with essentially zero pressure gradient, and all are adjusted to have the same value for the momentum thickness, extrapolated from the entry region to the centre of the separation bubble. Combined with fully defined boundary conditions this will make comparisons with other simulations and turbulence models rigorous; we present results for a set of eight Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence models. Even though the largest Reynolds number is approximately 5.5 times higher than in a similar DNS study we presented in 1997, the models have difficulties matching the DNS skin friction very closely even in the zero pressure gradient, which complicates their assessment. In the rest of the domain, the separation location per se is not particularly difficult to predict, and the most definite disagreement between DNS and models is near reattachment. Curiously, the better models tend to cluster together in their predictions of pressure and skin friction even when they deviate from the DNS, although their eddy-viscosity levels are widely different in the outer region near the bubble (or they do not rely on an eddy viscosity). Stratford’s square-root law is satisfied by the velocity profiles, both at separation and reattachment. The Reynolds-number range covers a factor of two, with the Reynolds number based on the extrapolated momentum thickness equal to approximately 1500 and 3000. This allows tentative estimates of the improvements that even higher values will bring to the model comparisons. The solutions are used to assess models through pressure, skin friction and other measures; the flow fields are also used to produce effective eddy-viscosity targets for the models, thus guiding turbulence-modelling work in each region of the flow.

JFM classification

Boundary Layers: Boundary layer separation Turbulent Flows: Turbulence modelling Turbulent Flows: Turbulence simulation
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 847 , 25 July 2018 , pp. 28 - 70
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018. This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. 

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