Numerical Investigation of Transitional Flows over a NACA0012 Airfoil

A computational study of separated flows over a NACA 0012 airfoil at transitional Reynolds numbers is performed. The transitional nature of the flowfield is incorporated into the computations through γ-Re_θ transition model based on local variables. Fully turbulent and transitional computations are performed for steady airfoil flowfields and computed results are compared against experiments. The γ-Re_θ transition model, in association with Menter’s SST turbulence model is used for the transitional solutions while, SST turbulence model alone is used for the fully turbulent solutions. Both steady and unsteady compressible flow analysis for transition onset prediction and flow separation characterization has been performed. Effects of free stream flow conditions on flow transition are examined.