A zonal Navier-Stokes methodology for flow simulation about a complete aircraft

Abstract

The thin layer, Reynolds-averaged, Navier-Stokes equations are used to simulate the transonic viscous flow about the complete F-16A fighter aircraft. These computations demonstrate how computational fluid dynamics can be used to simulate turbulent viscous flow about realistic aircraft geometries. A zonal grid approach is used to provide adequate viscous grid clustering on all aircraft surfaces. Zonal grids extend inside the F-16A inlet and up to the compressor face while power on conditions are modeled by employing a zonal grid extending from the exhaust nozzle to the far field. Computations are compared with existing experimental data and are in fair agreement. Computations for the F-16A in side slip are also presented.