Boundary-layer transition prediction using a simplified correlation-based model

Abstract

This paper describes a simplified transition model based on the recently developed correlation-based γ-Reθt transition model. The transport equation of transition momentum thickness Reynolds number is eliminated for simplicity, and new transition length function and critical Reynolds number correlation are proposed. The new model is implemented into an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code and validated for low and high-speed flow cases, including the zero pressure flat plate, airfoils, hypersonic flat plate and double wedge. Comparisons between the simulation results and experimental data show that the boundary-layer transition phenomena can be reasonably illustrated by the new model, which gives rise to significant improvements over the fully laminar and fully turbulent results. Moreover, the new model has comparable features of accuracy and applicability when compared with the original γ-Reθt model. In the meantime, the newly proposed model takes only one transport equation of intermittency factor and requires fewer correlations, which simplifies the original model greatly. Further studies, especially on separation-induced transition flows, are required for the improvement of the new model.