Improved crossflow transition predictions for the one-equation [formula omitted] transition model

Abstract

A variant of the local correlation-based transition model (LCTM) γ is presented to account for the prediction of transition due to stationary crossflow instabilities. The presented Tc1 crossflow criterion is a local approximation of the well-known C1 criterion by Arnal (1984), evaluated locally through auxiliary functions expressed by the solution of the Falkner–Skan–Cooke (FSC) equations. The criterion, originally proposed by Menter and Smirnov (2014), uses the wall-normal directional change of the normalized vorticity as indicator of the crossflow strength. Hereafter, an original calibration FSC-based of Menter & Smirnov criterion is proposed. A local approximation of the sweep angle is included in order to achieve better results on non-wing-like geometries. The capability of this model variant to predict stationary crossflow transition is therefore discussed. A validation study is presented using experimental data on the 6:1 prolate spheroid and the sickle wing.