Numerical investigation of crossflow separation on a tangent-ogive forebody at high angle of attack

A ''sublayer-mass flow'' method is developed as a new tool for analysis of crossflow separation. It is found that the critical points of sublayer-mass flow are located at the points of convergence of surface streamlines. Thus, the critical points indicate where the flow is separated. This representation can be used to identify the primary and secondary separation points of crossflow separation. This is the first successful capture of crossflow separation points in a three-dimensional flow computation.