USM3D Unstructured Grid Solutions for CAWAPI at NASA LaRC

In support the Cranked Arrow Wing Aerodynamic Project International (CAWAPI) to improve the Technology Readiness Level of flow solvers by comparing results with measured F-16XL-1 flight data, NASA Langley employed the TetrUSS unstructured grid solver, USM3D, to obtain solutions for all seven flight conditions of interest. A newly available solver version that incorporates a number of turbulence models, including the two-equation linear and non-linear k-epsilon, was used in this study. As a first test, a choice was made to utilize only a single grid resolution with the solver for the simulation of the different flight conditions. Comparisons are presented with three turbulence models in USM3D, flight data for surface pressure, boundary-layer profiles, and skin-friction results, as well as limited predictions from other solvers. A result of these comparisons is that the USM3D solver can be used in an engineering environment to predict flow physics on a complex configuration at flight Reynolds numbers with a two-equation linear k-epsilon turbulence model.