Unsteady boundary-layer separation from an Eppler 387 airfoil at low Reynolds number is studied numerically. Through a series of computations, the effects of Reynolds number and angle of attack are investigated. For all cases, vortex shedding is observed from the separated shear layer. From linear stability analysis, a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is identified as causing shear layer unsteadiness. The low-turbulence wind-tunnel tests of the Eppler 387 airfoil are used to compare with the time-averaged results of the present unsteady computations. The favorable comparison between computational and experimental results strongly suggests that the unsteady large-scale structure controls the low-Reynolds-number separation bubble reattachment with small-scale turbulence playing a secondary role.
Low-Reynolds-number separation on an airfoil
Grenzschichtablösung an einer Tragfläche bei geringen Reynoldszahlen
AIAA Journal ; 34 , 8 ; 1570-1577
1996
8 Seiten, 9 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 33 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
Aerodynamik , Wirbelfaden (Strömung) , Turbulenz , Reynolds-Zahl , Luftströmung , Anströmwinkel , Tragflügel , Flügeloberseite , Strömungsinstabilität , Profil (Strömung) , Strömungstechnik , Profilumströmung , Stromlinie , Tragflügelumströmung , Grenzschichtablösung , Strömungsgeschwindigkeit , Strouhal-Zahl , Wirbelströmung , instationärer Zustand
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