Modeling of Transonic Transitional Three-Dimensional Flows for Aerodynamic Applications

Abstract

The paper describes a technology designed for computing three-dimensional transonic laminar–turbulent flows at various aerodynamic configurations with the use of the general-purpose computational fluid dynamics code ANSYS Fluent and an integrated special module of computing the laminar–turbulent transition position created on the basis of the autonomous software package LOTRAN 3, developed previously by the authors. Within the framework of this technology, computations with a prolate spheroid and engine nacelle are performed for different Mach numbers ($M_{\infty }=0.14–0.7$ Reynolds numbers $Re=2–10.38\times {10}^6$ ), and angles of attack ($\phi =-10\mathrm{deg}$ to $+10\mathrm{deg}$ ). New results are obtained on the position of the laminar–turbulent transition in boundary layers in transonic flow regimes, and the problem of the dominating transition mechanism is considered. The results obtained in the present study are demonstrated to be in good agreement with experimental data on the position of the laminar–turbulent transition available in the literature.