NAVIER-STOKES COMPUTATIONS OF VORTICAL FLOWS OVER LOW-ASPECT-RATIO WINGS

An upwind-biased finite-volume algorithm is applied to the low-speed laminar flow over a low-aspect-ratio delta wing from 0 to 40 deg angle of attack. The differencing is second-order accurate spatially and a multigrid algorithm is used to promote convergence to the steady state. The results compare well with the detailed experiments of Hummel and others for an Ret of 0.95 × 106. The predicted maximum lift coefficient of 1.10 at 35 deg angle of attack agrees closely with the measured maximum lift of 1.06 at 33 deg. At 40 deg angle of attack, a bubble type of vortex breakdown is evident in the computations, extending from 0.6 of the root chord to just downstream of the trailing edge. © 1990 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., All rights reserved.