Aerodynamic Flow Simulation of a Rudimentary Landing Gear Using PANS and LES

Abstract

Aerodynamic flow past a four wheel rudimentary airplane landing gear is simulated using two different simulation methods. Partially - averaged Navier - Stokes (PANS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The rudimentary landing gear was specially designed for wind tunnel testing and CFD and is a ”stepping stone” case within the ATAAC project, an international project that aims to improve CFD methods for flows relevant to todays aeronautical industry. In this study, PANS provides a seamless transition from k - ζ turbulence model and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) based on the unresolved to total kinetic energy ratio (fk) and the unresolved to total dissipation ratio (fǫ). The simulation results are compared with available experimental data. PANS appears to perform better than LES on the mesh used for this study. LES predicts false separation on the front wheel outboard sides whereas PANS correctly predicts attached flow. The computational mesh is generated in ICEM CFD and all simulations are performed with AVL FIRE.