Extraction of Boundary Layer

Characteristics from Fluent Results

Fluent 2005 CFD Summit, Dearborn, MI

Kent P. Misegades, CEI Inc., Apex, NC

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 Topics
Background & Real Flow Visualization

Traditional Visualization of CFD results

Boundary Layer Characterization

Boundary Layer Characteristic Extraction

Other Techniques

Future Work

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 Background
Subject: Viscous, High-Speed, Compressible Flows

Slender bodies & wings at low angle-of-attack

High Reynolds numbers, thus thin boundary layers

Shock / boundary layer interaction significant

BL thickness and flow distortion in engine inlets

Extensive laminar flow may exist, thus BL transition critical

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 Background

Boeing 787 Lockheed-Martin HCV

Aerion SSBJ SAI SSBJ

Advanced Aircraft with Extensive Laminar Flow

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 Background
High-Fidelity Fluent CFD Aerodynamic Simulations

Accuracy now comparable to legacy lab aero codes

Dense meshes needed for turbulence models & shocks

Boundary layers for RANS+SA models are well resolved

DNS, LES, DES all produce far more detail than RANS

Traditional post-processing ignores rich data in results

We need to return to basics & real flow visualization

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Real Flow Visualization

Laminar BL Separation and Turbulent BL Reattachment, M. Selig, UIUC

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Real Flow Visualization

Boundary Layer Surface Flow using Paint Dots, Flometrics

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Real Flow Visualization

Schlieren Photographs, NASA

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Real Flow Visualization

Shadowgraph of Spacecraft Model, NASA

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 CFD Visualization
Fluent Test Case
Geometry: ONERA M6 Wing
Mesh: 884,736 hexahedra
Reynolds Number: 11.34 million
Freestream Mach Number: 0.84
Angle of Attack: 3.07 degrees
M>1
Fluent 6.2 results courtesy Thomas
Scheidegger, Fluent Inc.
All images created using EnSight 8.0
from CEI, Inc.

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 CFD Visualization
Simple Techniques
Results displayed on model surfaces & clip planes
Velocity, Cp, density, Mach number, etc.

Derived variables
total pressure, vorticity, entropy, helicity, etc.

Velocity profiles
qualitatively depicts BL profiles, thickness, separation, etc.

Isosurfaces
total pressure, sonic (Mach=1), vorticity, entropy, etc.

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 CFD Visualization

Surface Pressure Pressure on Clip Plane

Total Pressure on Clip Plane Mach Number on Clip Plane

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 CFD Visualization
Sophisticated Techniques
Regions of Reverse flow
Streamwise velocity at a small offset distance from a surface

Surface-Restricted Traces
Oil flow analog, particle traces in laminar sublayer

Lines of BL Separation and Attachment

Singularities on surface

Shock surfaces & Dilitation Contours

Schlieren & Shadowgraph simulation

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 CFD Visualization
Reverse Flow

Offset Velocity Magnitude Offset Vx

Surface-Restricted Traces Surface Traces and Offset Velocity

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CFD Visualization
Shock Surface Extraction

Lines of BL Separation (green)

Lines of BL Attachment (magenta)

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CFD Visualization

Velocity Profiles under BL Separation Bubble

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 CFD Visualization

|)
Schlieren Simulation (| 2 )
Shadowgraph Simulation (
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BL Characterization

Boundary Layers on an Airfoil, NASA

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 BL Characterization
Classical Boundary Layer Characteristics

See: Abbott & von Doenhoff, Theory of Wing Sections

): distance at which u = 0.99 x U

Thickness (

*): how BL displaces flow

Displacement thickness (

): loss of momentum in BL
Momentum Thickness (

Shape Factor (H = * / ):
) separation tendency

Skin Friction Coefficient (Cf): viscous drag, transition

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 BL Characterization
BL Health Indicator: Total Pressure Loss

Total pressure drops due to viscosity and shocks

Isosurface of 95% freestream Ptotal indicates BL growth

Distance from surface to this 95% isosurface is desired

Boundary Layer Transition

Of increasing importance for DNS, LES, DES results

Involves anaysis of variables at BL edge

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BL Characteristic Extraction
Incorporated in EnSight 8.x from CEI
Classical BL Characteristics
Thickness, , determined by proprietary edge-finding
algorithm developed at CEI
* and are 1-D integrals computed on surface nodes
Shape Factor is simply H = * /
Cf is computed on surface
Numerically intensive computations for irregular grids
All characteristics available as surface variables

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BL Characteristic Extraction

BL Thickness, BL Displacement Thickness, *

BL Momentum Thickness, Shape Factor, H

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 Other Techniques
Elevated surfaces of BL characteristics

Distance to value variable on surfaces

Variables on edge of boundary layers

BL transition indicators

Animations of all techniques for transient flows

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 Other Techniques

Elevated Surface of Elevated Surface of

Contour of 95% Ptotal Distance to 95% Ptotal

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 Other Techniques

BL Thickness, Distance to 95% Ptotal

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 Future Work
Further Validation against DPW-I & II DLR models

Flow separation detection & reporting

Laminar/turbulent area ratios

Drag breakdown

Interactive velocity profiling

Smart flow mapping with GPS-like decluttering

Faster methods, better defaults & filters

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DPW-I DLR-F4

Pressure

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DPW-I DLR-F4

Boundary Layer Thickness

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DPW-I DLR-F4

Distance to 95% Ptotal

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 Thank You

Boeing 787

Boeing Commercial Airplane Company, for supporting this work

Fluent Inc., for use of FLUENT and providing example datasets

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