C

NASA Technical Memorandum 102221

Computer Simulation
of Aircraft Aerodynamics
Mamoru lnouye

October 1989
.
._- - _ _ ~ __
(NASA-TM-102221) COMPUTER S I M U L A T I O N OF N90-11699
ATH€&AFT AERdDYNAHICS ( N A S A ) 4i$ C S C L 0 1 A
7’97
.5-&
Uncl a s
G3,/02 0239287

NASA
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
NASA Technical Memorandum 102221

Computer Simulation
of Aircraft Aerodynamics
~~~ ~

Mamoru Inouye, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

October 1989

NASA
NationalAeronautics and
Space Administration

Ames ResearchCenter
Moffett Field, California94035
 COMPUTER SIMULATION OF AIRCRAFT AERODYNAMICS

Mamoru I n o u y e
A m e s Research C e n t e r

SUMMARY

T h e r o l e o f A m e s R e s e a r c h C e n t e r i n c o n d u c t i n g basic a e r o d y n a m i c s
r e s e a r c h t h r o u g h c o m p u t e r s i m u l a t i o n s is described. The c o m p u t e r
f a c i l i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g s u p e r c o m p u t e r s and p e r i p h e r a l e q u i p m e n t ,
r e p r e s e n t t h e s t a t e o f t h e a r t . T h e m e t h o d o l o g y of c o m p u t a t i o n a l
f l u i d d y n a m i c s is e x p l a i n e d b r i e f l y . F u n d a m e n t a l s t u d i e s of t u r -
b u l e n c e and t r a n s i t i o n a r e b e i n g p u r s u e d t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e s e
phenomena and t o d e v e l o p m o d e l s t h a t can be u s e d i n t h e s o l u t i o n
o f t h e Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes e q u a t i o n s . Four a p p l i c a -
t i o n s of computer s i m u l a t i o n s f o r aerodynamics problems are
described: s u b s o n i c flow around a f u s e l a g e a t high a n g l e of a t -
t a c k , s u b s o n i c flow t h r o u g h a t u r b i n e s t a t o r - r o t o r s t a g e , t r a n -
s o n i c f l o w a r o u n d a f l e x i b l e s w e p t w i n g , and t r a n s o n i c f l o w
a r o u n d a wing-body c o n f i g u r a t i o n t h a t i n c l u d e s a n i n l e t and a
tail.

I NTROD UCT I ON

S i n c e t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of j e t a i r c r a f t t o r e g u l a r commercial
s e r v i c e 30 y e a r s a g o , t h e w o r l d ' s f l e e t h a s grown t o o v e r 7 , 0 0 0
airplanes. A l t h o u g h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s market s h a r e h a s e r o d e d
o v e r t h e y e a r s , m o s t of t h e s e a i r c r a f t were m a n u f a c t u r e d i n t h e
United States. N e w a i r c r a f t a r e n e e d e d now t o r e p l a c e a g i n g
airframes, t o c o m p l y w i t h noise r e s t r i c t i o n s , and t o improve
operating efficiencies. M a n u f a c t u r e r s p l a n t o b u i l d o v e r 8,000
new a i r c r a f t d u r i n g t h e n e x t 1 5 y e a r s . One of N A S A ' s o b j e c t i v e s
is t o p r o v i d e t h e a i r c r a f t i n d u s t r y w i t h t h e b a s i c t e c h n o l o g y re-
q u i r e d t o d e s i g n new a i r c r a f t t h a t will m a i n t a i n t h e c o u n t r y ' s
p r e e m i n e n c e i n t h e w o r l d marketplace.

COMPUTER FAC I L I T I E S

A m e s R e s e a r c h C e n t e r h a s two c o m p u t e r f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e
f o r t h e s i m u l a t i o n o f a i r c r a f t a e r o d y n a m i c s . The C e n t r a l Comput-
i n g F a c i l i t y s e r v e s t h e g e n e r a l research n e e d s of t h e C e n t e r w i t h
a C r a y Y-MP/832 s u p e r c o m p u t e r . The N u m e r i c a l A e r o d y n a m i c
S i m u l a t i o n (NAS) f a c i l i t y p r o v i d e s a c o m p u t a t i o n a l c a p a b i l i t y t o
t h e whole c o u n t r y , i n c l u d i n g researchers i n i n d u s t r y , u n i v e r -
s i t i e s and g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s . T h e h i g h - s p e e d p r o c e s s o r s i n t h e
N A S f a c i l i t y a r e c u r r e n t l y a C r a y - 2 a n d a C r a y Y-MP/832.
T h i r t y - f i v e s c i e n t i f i c w o r k s t a t i o n s are d i s t r i b u t e d among u s e r s
1
a t t h e C e n t e r ; o t h e r w o r k s t a t i o n s are d i s t r i b u t e d around t h e
country. T h e c o m p l e t e s y s t e m i n c l u d e s mass s t o r a g e , s u p p o r t
p r o c e s s i n g , and l o n g - h a u l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s u b s y s t e m s c o n n e c t e d b y
a high-speed d a t a network. T h e l o n g - t e r m g o a l i s t o replace t h e
high-speed p r o c e s s o r s p e r i o d i c a l l y w i t h t h e f a s t e s t a v a i l a b l e su-
percomputers.

COMPUTATIONAL F L U I D DYNAMICS

The N a v i e r - S t o k e s e q u a t i o n s which d e s c r i b e t h e b e h a v i o r of
v i s c o u s f l o w s h a v e b e e n known f o r o v e r 1 5 0 y e a r s . Computational
f l u i d d y n a m i c s i s t h e r e l a t i v e l y new f i e l d i n which t h e s e p a r t i a l
d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n s are s o l v e d u s i n g high-speed computers.
T h e f l o w f i e l d , i n c l u d i n g a n y s o l i d b o d i e s or b o u n d a r i e s , is e n -
c a s e d w i t h i n a g r i d o f mesh p o i n t s . D i f f e r e n c e methods are t h e n
u s e d t o s o i v e t h e f l o w p r o p e r t i e s f o r t h e s p e c i f i e d b o u n d a r y and
i n i t i a l cond i t i o n s .

TURBULENCE

Nearly a l l practical aerodynamics problems involve t u r b u l e n t

f l o w n e a r s u r f a c e s and i n wake r e g i o n s . The c o m b i n a t i o n of t h e
f i n e g r i d r e q u i r e d t o r e s o l v e t h e t u r b u l e n c e and t h e p r o c e s s i n g
speed required t o perform t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s r u l e s o u t e x a c t solu-
t i o n s of t h e N a v i e r - S t o k e s e q u a t i o n s f o r c o m p l e x c o n f i g u r a t i o n s .
I n o r d e r t o o b t a i n s o l u t i o n s , t h e t u r b u l e n c e terms a r e t i m e -
a v e r a g e d and a p p r o x i m a t e d w i t h e m p i r i c a l m o d e l s .
The most commonly u s e d t u r b u l e n c e model is t h e Baldwin-Lomax
a l g e b r a i c e d d y v i s c o s i t y model ( R e f . l), w h i c h w o r k s w e l l f o r
flows w i t h l i t t l e o r no s e p a r a t i o n . Improved m o d e l s a r e n e c e s -
s a r y f o r f l o w s w i t h l a r g e s e p a r a t e d r e g i o n s and s t e e p p r e s s u r e
gradients. Computer s i m u l a t i o n of t u r b u l e n c e i s b e i n g u s e d t o
s t u d y t h e d e t a i l e d s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e purpose of d e v e l o p i n g n e /
t u r b u l e n c e models. Spalart (Ref. 2) r e c e n t l y performed d i r e c t
s i m u l a t i o n s o f a t u r b u l e n t b o u n d a r y l a y e r on a f l a t p l a t e f o r
R e y n o l d s n u m b e r s , R e e , b a s e d on momentum t h i c k n e s s , u p t o 1 4 1 0 .
The d e t a i l e d q u a l i t y o f t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s may b e o b s e r v e d i n t h e
v o r t i c i t y c o n t o u r s shown i n F i g . 1.

APPLICATIONS

C u r r e n t c a p a b i l i t i e s f o r computer s i m u l a t i o n of aerodynamics
p r o b l e m s a r e d e m o n s t r a t e d b y t h e f o l l o w i n g a p p l i c a t i o n s made by
inenibers of t h e A m e s A p p l i e d C o m p u t a t i o n a l F l u i d s B r a n c h . The
e q u a t i o n s solved are u s u a l l y t h e t h i n - l a y e r , Reynolds-averaged
N a v i e r - S t o k e s e q u a t i o n s , and t h e Baldwin-Lomax model is u s e d f o r
t u r b u l e n t flow.
2
 0
I I
1000
1
2000
1
Moo
' - - - T
4MM
- I
5ooo
I
6ooo
. I
7000
' I
8ooo
' I
pooo
X'

F i g . 1 V o r t i c i t y c o n t o u r s on f l a t p l a t e , Reo = 1410 (Ref. 2)

t forebodv
Subsonic flow around a s l e n d e r f u s e l a g e a t a high a n g l e of
a t t a c k was c a l c u l a t e d b y S c h i f f , C u m m i n g s , S o r e n s o n , a n d
Rizk ( R e f . 3) t o s t u d y t h e v o r t i c a l f l o w on t h e l e e w a r d s i d e ,
w h i c h a f f e c t s t h e m a n e u v e r a b i l i t y o f t h e a i r c r a f t . A c l o s e u p of
t h e two-block g r i d is shown i n F i g . 2; t h e i n t e r f a c e is l o c a t e d
a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e wing l e a d i n g - e d g e e x t e n s i o n (LEX). The
a f t b l o c k h a s a l a r g e r number o f c i r c u m f e r e n t i a l p o i n t s t o d e f i n e
t h e LEX. N e a r l y a q u a r t e r o f a m i l l i o n g r i d p o i n t s were u s e d .

Fig. 2 Two-block g r i d a r o u n d Fig. 3 S u r f a c e f l o w p a t t e r n on

a i r c r a f t forebody a i r c r a f t f o r ebod y
( R e f . 3) ( R e f . 3)

The s u r f a c e flow p a t t e r n is shown i n F i g . 3 f o r M, = 0 . 2 ,

a = 30°, and p y n o l d s number b a s e d on mean a e r o d y n a m i c c h o r d ,
R e c = 11.5 x 1 0 .The p r i m a r y and s e c o n d a r y s e p a r a t i o n l i n e s on
t h e f o r e b o d y and t h e s e c o n d a r y c r o s s f l o w s e p a r a t i o n l i n e on t h e
LEX are i n good a g r e e m e n t w i t h f l i g h t - t e s t d a t a . '

Subsonic flow through a t u r b i n e s t a t o r - r o t o r s t a g e was c a l -

c u l a t e d b y R a i ( R e f . 4 ) t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e f l o w processes i n o r d e r
t o d e s i g n more e f f i c i e n t t u r b o m a c h i n e r y . A patched-grid system
was u s e d w i t h t h e g r i d a b o u t t h e r o t o r moving r e l a t i v e t o t h e
g r i d about t h e stator. T h i s is shown i n F i g . 4 f o r a m i d s p a n
location. The complete g e o m e t r y i n c l u d e d t h e hub and o u t e r
c a s i n g w i t h some t i p c l e a r a n c e . E q u a l number o f r o t o r and s t a t o r
b l a d e s were u s e d t o r e d u c e t h e c a l c u l a t i o n s t o o n e r o t o r and o n e
s t a t o r b l a d e . The t o t a l number o f g r i d p o i n t s was 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 .

ZONE 3

ZONE 4

Fig. 4 Patched g r i d around Fig. 5 Instantaneous pressure

s t a t o r and r o t o r a t c o n t o u r s a t midspan
midspan ( R e f . 4 ) (Ref. 4)

Calculations were p e r f o r m e d for an i n l e t Mach n u m b e r ,

M i = 0.07, and R e = l o 5 per i n c h . I n s t a n t a n e o u s p r e s s u r e con-
t o u r s a t m i d s p a n a r e shown i n F i g . 5.

T r a n s o n i c f l o w a r o u n d a f l e x i b l e swept wing was c a l c u l a t e .

b y Guruswamy ( R e f s . 5'6) t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h e c o u p l i n g b e t w e e n t h e
v o r t i c a l f l o w and t h e wing d e f o r m a t i o n . The u n s t e a d y N a v i e r -
S t o k e s e q u a t i o n s were s o l v e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h t h e s t r u c t u r a l
e q u a t i o n s of m o t i o n . A new g r i d was g e n e r a t e d a t e a c h t i m e s t e p
t o conform w i t h t h e deformed wing. The i n i t i a l a n d d e f o r m e d
g r i d s a t t h e 50% s e m i s p a n a i r f o i l s e c t i o n a r e shown i n F i g . 6.
C a l c u l a t i o n s were performed f o r ramp m o t i o n of a r e c t a n g u l a r
w i n g , u s i n g a NACA 0 0 1 5 a i r f o i l s e c t i o n w i t h a n aspect r a t i o of 4
and a sweep a n g l e o f . '
0
3 The e f f e c t s o f f l e x i b i l i t y on un-
s t e a d y l i f t c o e f f i c i e n t s a t f o u r s p a n l o c a t i o n s a r e shown i n F i
7 f o r M, = 0 . 5 , R e y n o l d s number b a s e d on c h o r d , Re, = 2 x 1 0% ,
.
and p i t c h i n g r a t e A = 0.1. The h i g h e r l i f t f o r t h e f l e x i b l e
wing is a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e i n c r e a s e i n a n g l e of a t t a c k c a u s e d b y
the flexibility.

4
 I 75% SEMISPAN
,.----.

,_.__.--.._
7
;1 RIGID
-I ROOT .-- - - - - -- FLEXIBLE

0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5

TIME

Fig. 6 I n i t i a l and d e f o r m e d Fig. 7 Unsteady l i f t c o e f f i -

g r i d a t 5 0 % s e m i s p a n of c i e n t f o r r i g i d and
f l e x i b l e wing ( R e f . 5) f l e x i b l e wing ( R e f . 6)

Complete a i r c r a f t
T r a n s o n i c f l o w a r o u n d a wing-body c o n f i g u r a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g
a n i n l e t a n d a t a i l , was c a l c u l a t e d b y F l o r e s a n d C h a d e r j i a n
( R e f . 7). The p u r p o s e was t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h e a b i l i t y t o c a l c u l a t e
t r a n s o n i c v i s c o u s f l o w o v e r a complete a i r c r a f t . The flow f i e l d
was d i v i d e d i n t o 2 7 z o n e s , d e t e r m i n e d b y g e o m e t r i c a l o r f l o w c o n -
d i t i o n s , f o r a t o t a l of h a l f a m i l l i o n g r i d p o i n t s . The s u r f a c e
g r i d c o v e r i n g t h e forward p o r t i o n of t h e f u s e l a g e , i n c l u d i n g t h e
i n l e t and w i n g , is shown i n F i g . 8.
C o m p u t a t i o n s f o r M, = 0 . 9 , Q .= : 6 and R e y n o l d s number
based on wing r o o t c h o r d , Rec = 4.5 x 1 0 8 r e q u i r e d 25 h o u r s f o r
5 , 0 0 0 i t e r a t i o n s , u s i n g o n e processor of a C r a y X-MP/48. Pres-
s u r e c o e f f i c i e n t s on t h e v e r t i c a l t a i l a t t h r e e - q u a r t e r s h e i g h t
a r e shown i n F i g . 9. Comparison w i t h e x p e r i m e n t a l r e s u l t s
( R e f . 8) shows good a g r e e m e n t . C a l c u l a t i o n s f o r t h e wing and
f u s e l a g e w i t h o u t t h e t a i l s u r f a c e s ( R e f . 9 ) a l s o show good a g r e e -
ment ( F i g . 1 0 ) .
5
 1
1

-0.1 0.0 0.1 03 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.1 0.7 0.1 0.0 1.0
x/c

Fig. 8 Grid f o r f u s e l a g e Fig. 9 P r e s s u r e c o e f f i c i e n t on

f o r e b o d y ( R e f . 7) vertical t a i l (Ref. 7)

A V
a A

\ \
\ \
\ \ K l
\77
I 77 = 0-45

d mI - i

Fig. 10 P r e s s u r e c o e f f i c i e n t on wing and upper f u s e l a g e c e n t e r -

l i n e (Ref. 9)

6
 CONCLUDING REMARKS

Many c h a l l e n g e s s t i l l r e m a i n i n c o m p u t a t i o n a l f l u i d
dynamics. S t e a d y - s t a t e s o l u t i o n s are sought u s i n g time-dependent
m e t h o d s t h a t r e q u i r e t h o u s a n d s of s t e p s f o r c o n v e r g e n c e . The e f -
f i c i e n c y of n u m e r i c a l m e t h o d s m u s t be improved t o m a k e t h e b e s t
u s e of a v a i l a b l e c o m p u t e r s . New t u r b u l e n c e models are needed;
t h e most commonly u s e d m o d e l - - t h e Baldwin-Lomax m o d e l - - i s over
t e n y e a r s o l d and is i n a d e q u a t e f o r s e p a r a t e d flows. Single-
p r o c e s s o r s u p e r c o m p u t e r s are a p p r o a c h i n g t h e i r i n h e r e n t perf or-
mance l i m i t s , and m u l t i p r o c e s s o r s o f f e r a means f o r i n c r e a s i n g
performance. A l g o r i t h m s and c o d e s m u s t be c o n s t r u c t e d t o t a k e
a d v a n t a g e of t h e s u p e r c o m p u t e r a r c h i t e c t u r e . F i n a l l y , aerody-
n a m i c s m u s t b e combined w i t h o t h e r aspects of a i r c r a f t d e s i g n .
S t r u c t u r e and m a t e r i a l s , c o n t r o l and g u i d a n c e , and p r o p u l s i o n
s y s t e m s a r e e q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t , and c o u p l i n g b e t w e e n d i s c i p l i n e s
w i l l be required i n future designs.

REFERENCES

1. B a l d w i n , B.S. and Lomax, H . , T h i n - L a y e r A p p r o x i m a t i o n and

A l g e b r a i c Model f o r S e p a r a t e d T u r b u l e n t F l o w s , A I A A P a p e r
N0.78-257, 1 9 7 8 .
2. S p a l a r t , P.R., Direct S i m u l a t i o n of a T u r b u l e n t Boundary
L a y e r u p t o R e = 1 4 1 0 , J . F l u i d M e c h a n i c s , Vo1.187, 1 9 8 8 ,
pp.61-98.
3. S c h i f f , L.B., Cummings, R.M., S o r e n s o n , R.L., and R i z k , Y.M.,
N u m e r i c a l S i m u l a t i o n of H i g h - I n c i d e n c e Flow o v e r t h e F-18
F u s e l a g e F o r e b o d y , AIAA Paper No.89-0339, 1 9 8 9 .
4. R a i , M.M., Unsteady Three-Dimensional Navier-Stokes Simula-
t i o n s of T u r b i n e R o t o r - S t a t o r I n t e r a c t i o n , A I M Paper No.87-
2058, 1 9 8 7 .
5. Guruswamy, G . , T i m e - A c c u r a t e U n s t e a d y A e r o d y n a m i c and
A e r o e l a s t i c C a l c u l a t i o n s of Wings U s i n g E u l e r E q u a t i o n s , A I A A
Paper N o . 88-2281, 1 9 8 8 .

6. Guruswamy, G., V o r t i c a l Flow C o m p u t a t i o n s on Swept F l e x i b l e

Wings U s i n g N a v i e r - S t o k e s E q u a t i o n s , A I A A P a p e r No.89-1183,
1989.

7. F l o r e s , J . , and C h a d e r j i a n , N.M. The N u m e r i c a l S i m u l a t i o n of

T r a n s o n i c S e p a r a t e d Flow a b o u t t h e Complete F-16A, A I A A P a p e r
N0.88-2506, 1 9 8 8 .
8. R e u e , G.L., D o b e r e n z , M.E. , and W i l k i n s , D.D., Component
Aerodynamic Load from 1 / 9 - S c a l e F-16A L o a d s M o d e l , G e n e r a l
Dynamics Rep. 16PR316, F o r t W o r t h , TX, May 1 9 7 6 .
7
9. R e z n i c k , S.G., and F l o r e s , J . , Strake-Generated Vortex I n t e r -
a c t i o n s for a Fighter-Like C o n f i g u r a t i o n , J . A i r c r a f t ,
Vo1.26, No.4, Apr. 1989, pp.289-294.

8
 Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
NASA TM- 102221
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date

Computer Simulation of Aircraft Aerodynamics October 1989

7. Author@) 8. Performing Organization Report No.

Mamoru Inouye A-89227

10. Work Unit No.
505-60-01
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
1 1. Contract or Grant No.
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, CA 94035
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Technical Memorandum
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546-0001
15. Supplementary Notes
1
I
14. Sponsoring Agency Code

Point of Contact: Mamoru Inouye, Ames Research Center, MS 202A-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035
(415) 694-5126 or FTS 464-5126

Presented at JSASS 27th Aircraft Symposium, Fukuoka, Japan, Oct. 18-20, 1989.
16. Abstract

The role of Ames Research Center in conducting basic aerodynamics research through computer
simulations is described in this paper presented at the International Sessions of the 27th Aircraft
Symposium, sponsored by the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences and held at Fukuoka,
Japan, during October 18-20, 1989. The computer facilities, including supercomputers and peripheral
equipment that represent the state of the art, are described. The methodology of computational fluid
dynamics is explained briefly. Fundamental studies of turbulence and transition are being pursued to
understand these phenomena and to develop models that can be used in the solution of the Reynolds-
averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Four applications of computer simulations for aerodynamics problems
are described: subsonic flow around a fuselage at high angle of attack, subsonic flow through a turbine
stator-rotor stage, transonic flow around a flexible swept wing, and transonic flow around a wing-body
configuration that includes an inlet and a tail.

7. Key Words (Suggested by Author(s)) 18. Distribution Statement

Aerodynamics Unclassified-Unlimited
Computational fluid dynamics
Subject Category - 02

9. Security Classif. (of this report)

Unclassified
20. Security Classif. (of th~
Unclassified
121. No. o f ; F I 22. Price
A02
I I I

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