Comparison of Different Turbulence Models in Numerical Calculation of Low-Speed Flow around NACA0012 Airfoil

Abstract

To further develop a more effective turbulence model and improve the calculation accuracy of the flow, a new turbulence model was constructed using the deformation rate tensor, grouping the average. Due to the need to evaluate the applicability of the new turbulence model in the numerical calculation, the flow around the NACA0012 airfoil with a Mach number of 0.15 and multiple angles of attack was calculated on the OpenFOAM calculation platform based on grid independence research. The Spalart-Allmaras (S-A) model and the newly proposed turbulence model were adopted. The surface pressure and lift coefficients of the NACA0012 airfoil were calculated and compared with the experimental data. It was revealed that the two models simulated the flow around the airfoil well, and the S-A model was slightly better for calculating the airfoil pressure coefficient. The new turbulence model was more accurate for calculating the lift coefficient, thus illustrating the preliminary applicability of the new model to the low-speed flow around the airfoil.