Simone Crippa

Summary of the Fourth AIAA CFD Drag Prediction Workshop

Results of the Thrid AIAA Drag Prediction Workshop are summarized. The workshop is focused on the prediction of both absolute and differential drag levels for wing-body and wing-alone configuarations that are representative of transonic transport aircraft.

Summary of Data from the Fifth Computational Fluid Dynamics Drag Prediction Workshop

Results from the Fifth AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Drag Prediction Workshop are presented. As with past workshops, numerical calculations are performed using industry-relevant geometry, methodology, and test cases. This workshop focused on force/moment predictions for the NASA Common Research Model wing-body configuration, including a grid refinement study and an optional buffet study. The grid refinement study used a common grid sequence derived from a multiblock topology structured grid. Six levels of refinement were created, resulting in grids ranging from 0.64×106 to 138×106 hexahedra, a much larger range than is typically seen. The grids were then transformed into structured overset and hexahedral, prismatic, tetrahedral, and hybrid unstructured formats all using the same basic cloud of points. This unique collection of grids was designed to isolate the effects of grid type and solution algorithm by using identical point distributions. This study showed reduced scatter and standard deviation fr...

Lessons Learned from Numerical Simulations of the F-16XL Aircraft at Flight Conditions

This thesis covers the field of vortex-flow dominated external aerodynamics. As part of the contribution to the AVT-113 task group it was possible to prove the feasibility of high Reynolds number CFD computations to resolve and thus better understand the peculiar dual vortex system encountered on the VFE-2 blunt leading edge delta wing at low to moderate incidences. Initial investigations into this phenomenon seemed to undermine the hypothesis, that the formation of the inner vortex system depends on the laminar/turbulent state of the boundary layer at separation onset. As a result of this research, the initial hypothesis had to be expanded to account also for high Reynolds number cases, where a laminar boundary layer at separation onset can be excluded. In addition, unsteady transonic computations are used to shed light on a highly non-linear phenomenon encountered at high angles of incidence. At certain conditions, the increase of the incidence by a single degree leads to a sudden movement of the vortex breakdown location from the trailing edge to mid-chord. The lessons learned from the contribution to the VFE-2 facet are furthermore used to prove the technology readiness level of the tools within the second facet of AVT-113, the Cranked Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project International (CAWAPI). The platform for this investigation, the F-16XL aircraft, experiences at high transonic speeds and low incidence a complex interaction between the leading edge vortex and a strong, mid-chord shock wave. A synergetic effect of VFE-2 with a further project, the Environmentally friendly High Speed Aircraft (HISAC), is also presented in this thesis. Reynolds number dependence is documented in respect to leading edge vortex formation of the wing planform for a reference HISAC configuration. Furthermore, proof is found for a similar dual vortex system as for the VFE-2 blunt leading edge configuration.

Summary of the Fourth AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Drag Prediction Workshop

Results from the Fourth AIAA Drag Prediction Workshop are summarized. The workshop focused on the prediction of both absolute and differential drag levels for wing–body and wing–body/horizontal-tail configurations of the NASA Common Research Model, which is representative of transonic transport aircraft. Numerical calculations are performed using industry-relevant test cases that include lift-specific flight conditions, trimmed drag polars, downwash variations, drag rises, and Reynolds-number effects. Drag, lift, and pitching moment predictions from numerous Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes computational fluid dynamics methods are presented. Solutions are performed on structured, unstructured, and hybrid grid systems. The structured-grid sets include point-matched multiblock meshes and overset grid systems. The unstructured and hybrid grid sets comprise tetrahedral, pyramid, prismatic, and hexahedral elements. Effort is made to provide a high-quality and parametrically consistent family of grids for each g...

Shock Effects on Delta Wing Vortex Breakdown

It has been observed that delta wings placed in a transonic freestream can experience a sudden movement of the vortex breakdown location as the angle of incidence is increased. The current paper uses computational fluid dynamics to examine this behavior in detail. The study shows that a shock/vortex interaction is responsible. The balance of the vortex strength and axial flow and the shock strength are examined to provide an explanation of the sensitivity of the breakdown location. Limited experimental data are available to supplement the computational fluid dynamics results in certain key respects, and the ideal synergy between computational fluid dynamics and experiments for this problem is considered.

Improvement of Unstructured Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations Through Novel Mesh Generation Methodologies

On the basis of the DLR contribution to DPW4, a procedure to produce an unstructured grid-convergence family as self-similar as possible is documented, with a specific procedure for steering the near-field, advancing-layer process. A novel hybrid mesh generation approach is presented, in which adjoint-based dissipation error evaluations are successfully employed to improve the solution accuracy for specific conditions. An intrinsic deficit of the standard mesh generation procedure, results in an unsatisfying resolution of flow features at the wing-body junction. For this case, an alternative solution strategy based on chimera grids is tested and found to improve the aerodynamic evaluation.

Steady, subsonic CFD analysis of the VFE-2 configuration and comparison to wind tunnel data

A steady computational fluid dynamic (CFD) study is performed over a wide range of Reynolds numbers at low incidence and subsonic speeds on the Second International Vortex Flow Experiment (VFE-2) b ...

Numerical investigation of Reynolds number effects on a blunt leading-edge delta wing

Numerical results are presented and discussed in this paper allowing a deeper and more precise characterization of the unique double vortex system, which develops on the second International Vortex ...