A Modified RANS Model for Drag Prediction of Practical Configuration with Riblets and Experimental Validation

Abstract

To reduce the computational cost, the k-ω SST turbulence model with Rotation and Curvature correction (SST-RC) is modified to predict the drag of practical aerodynamic configurations mounted with drag-reducing riblets. In the modified model, wall ω is reconstructed based on the existing experimental results and becomes a function of riblet geometry, angle of attack, position at the surface, and parameters of computational grids. The modified SST-RC model is validated by existing experimental and numerical examinations. Subsequently, a maximum error of 3.00% is achieved. Furthermore, experimental and numerical studies on a wing–body configuration are conducted in this work. The maximum error between the drag-reducing ratios obtained by numerical simulations and those of experiments is 3.21%. Analysis of numerical results demonstrates a maximum of 5.36% decline in skin friction coefficient for the model with riblets; moreover, the distribution of the pressure coefficient is also changed.

Keywords

• flow control
• drag-reducing riblets
• modified RANS method
• wind tunnel experiment validation