Validation of Actuator Disk, Actuator Line and Sliding Mesh Methods within the Structured Curvilinear Overset Solver

Speaker: Gerrit-Daniel Stich, Science and Technology Corporation, NASA Ames Research Center
August 25, 2022

Presentation

Abstract

In an attempt to assess propulsion models with various fidelities actuator-disk, actuator-line and sliding-mesh methodologies were implemented in the Launch Ascent and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA) solver. The different models are validated against available numerical as well as experimental data. Both steady and unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations using the Spallart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model are performed for several different configurations representative of aeroscience applications. The first part of this study is focused on the verification and validation of the implemented propulsor models on canonical test cases. The second part of the research shows the implemented models applied to realistic engineering configurations such as NASA's X57 airplane and the R4 Advanced Ducted Propellor (ADT). The propulsion models were successfully utilized to generate a database consisting of several thousand of RANS simulations quantifying the aerodynamic performance of the X57 airplane across the flight envelope. In addition, a modification to the actuator line method in order to represent the blade geometry more closely is proposed and comparisons with simulations modeling the blade utilizing a sliding-mesh approach are made.

This work is supported by NASA's Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) and Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities (FDC) projects.

Biography

Gerrit-Daniel Stich is a research scientist for the Science and Technology Corporation working in the Computational Aerosciences Branch of the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division at NASA Ames Research Center. He has a degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. After a research year at the Flow Physics and Aeroacoustics Laboratory at Stanford University, Stich joined the Launch Ascent and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA) group in February 2016. Gerrit-Daniel Stich has worked on a wide range of NASA mission related applications and helped push the envelope of simulation technologies for unsteady scale-resolving simulations in support of multiple programs within NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). He is one of the developers of LAVA which aims at solving challenging aerodynamics, aeroacoustics and aeroelastic problems with high-fidelity numerical tools. Gerrit-Daniel has supported the development and advancements of Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), hybrid RANS Large-Eddy Simulation (HRLES) models as well as the development of wall-modeled LES (WMLES) within the LAVA solver framework. He is also contributing as part of the team to predict lift at high angles of attack (CLmax) within certification by analysis efforts supported by NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies (T3) project. Gerrit-Daniel’s most recent efforts support NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology (CST) project with high fidelity scale-resolving simulation data for the prediction of jet noise from first principles.