Investigation of Advanced Turbulence Models for the Flow in a Generic Wing-Body Junction

The predictive performance of several turbulence models, among them formulations based on non-linear stress-strain relationships and on stress-transport equations, is examined in a collaborative university-industry study directed towards a generic wing-body junction. The geometry consists of a variation of the symmetric NACA 0020 aerofoil mounted on a flat plate, with the oncoming stream aligned with the aerofoil's symmetry plane. The dominant feature of this flow is a pronounced horseshoe vortex evolving in the junction region following separation ahead of the aerofoil's leading edge. This case is one of 6 forming a broad programme of turbulence-model validation by UMIST, Loughborough University, BAE Systems, Aircraft Research Association, Rolls-Royce plc and DERA. Key aspects of this collaboration were a high level of interaction between the partners, the use of common grids and boundary conditions, and numerical verifications aimed at maximizing confidence in the validity of the computational solutions. In total, 12 turbulence models were studied by four partners. Model performance is judged by comparing solutions with experimental data for pressure fields on the plane wall and around the aerofoil; for velocity, turbulence energy, shear stress and streamwise normal stress in the upstream symmetry plane; and for velocity, turbulence energy and shear stress in cross-flow planes downstream of the aerofoil leading edge. The emphasis of the study is on the structure of the horseshoe vortex and its effects on the forward flow. The main finding of the study is that, for this particular 3D flow, second-moment closure offers predictive advantages over the other models examined, especially in terms of the far-field structure of the horse-shoe vortex, although no model achieves close agreement with the experimental data in respect of both mean flow and turbulence quantities.