National Advisory Committee For Aeronautics Research Articles

Eulerian–Lagrangian hybrid solvers in external aerodynamics: Modeling and analysis of airfoil stall

Hybrid computational solvers that integrate Eulerian and Lagrangian methods are emerging as powerful tools in computational fluid dynamics, particularly for external aerodynamics. These solvers rely on the strengths of both approaches: Eulerian methods efficiently handle boundary layers, while Lagrangian methods excel in reducing numerical diffusion in flow convection. Building on our prior development of a two-dimensional hybrid solver that combines OpenFOAM with vortex particle method, this paper extends its application to the complex phenomena of airfoil stall at low Reynolds numbers. Specifically, we examine both static and dynamic stall conditions of a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) airfoil series 0012 (NACA0012) across a wide range of attack angles and oscillation frequencies, comparing our results with established data. The findings demonstrate the accuracy of hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian solvers in replicating known stall behaviors, underscoring their potential for advanced aerodynamic studies. This work not only confirms the capability of hybrid solvers in accurately modeling challenging flows but also paves the way for their increased involvement in the field of external aerodynamics.

Fluid–structure interaction of a marine rudder at incidence in the wake of a propeller

The structural response of a rudder in the wake of a marine propeller is investigated by one-way fluid–structure interaction approach. The unsteady pressure field gathered by detached eddy simulations is provided to a structural solver for the computation of deformations and stresses of the rudder. The study compares the structural response of the rudder at neutral and two equal and opposite rotations, which are representative of design conditions in straight motion and maneuvering conditions that are experienced under the action of the autopilot for course control or weak maneuvering. The analysis sheds light on the different structural behavior at the two opposite rotation angles, caused by asymmetrical variation along the span of the rudder of the angle of attack induced by the propeller slipstream, by considering the different role played by the tip and hub vortical systems. The test case consists of a rudder with a rectangular plane area and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0015 sectional profile located past the E779A propeller. The propeller operates at low loading conditions, and the rudder is set at incidence δ=0∘,±4∘. The study shows that the response of the rudder is driven by flap and torsion and is asymmetric for the two and opposite rotations. The mean deformation and vibratory response are magnified for δ=−4∘ by at least 70% and 20% for the lateral and edgewise deflections, respectively, with respect to the opposite rudder incidence. In general, the excitation generated by the tip vortex is stronger than that of the hub vortex. In the most critical condition, at δ=−4∘, the excitation associated with the tip vortex is nearly double that of the hub vortex.

Wall-modeled large eddy simulation of a tandem wing configuration in transonic flow

In this study, the interaction between a turbulent wake and the boundary layer of a horizontal tail plane (HTP) in the transonic flow regime is investigated. The setup considered corresponds to a generic tandem wing configuration with an OAT15A airfoil as the main wing and a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 64A-110 as an HTP. Due to the transonic flow, the suction side of the OAT15A exhibits buffet. The numerical approach consists of a two-stage procedure in which a detached eddy simulation (DES) provides unsteady inflow conditions for a subsequent zonal high-fidelity large eddy simulation (LES) performed for the HTP region only; the turbulent boundary layer is modeled using scale-resolved wall-modeled LES (WMLES). The study mainly pursues two objectives: first, to discuss the influence of wake turbulence on the flow characteristics of the NACA airfoil; and second, to evaluate the capability of WMLES as a low-cost but high-resolution numerical approach in challenging flow conditions. Essentially, the study confirms the expected result that the outer part of the HTP's boundary layer is dominated by the wake of the main wing. Mainly based on a discussion of turbulence spectra, the study further demonstrates the advantage of WMLES over DES, proving that WMLES is able to capture the effects of wake turbulence on boundary layer dynamics, and thus validates the WMLES approach as a cost-effective, high-resolution turbulence modeling approach. On a superordinate level, the study further sketches a possible way on how a flow problem with such a strongly unsteady behavior could be systematically evaluated.

Impact of blade shape on the aerodynamic performance and turbulent jet dynamics produced by a ducted rotor

A ducted rotor system was used to produce turbulent jets with a Reynolds number up to 5.97 × 105 and Mach number of 0.222 based on mean streamwise velocity. Three rotors with a diameter of 11.8 cm were manufactured and tested inside a duct with a 1 mm tip clearance at a speed up to 30 000 revolutions per minute (rpm). All rotor blades contain the same aspect ratio of 2.2, a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 2410 airfoil, and ideal pitch distribution. However, three different blade planform shapes were used including a rectangular shape with constant chord, trapezoidal shape with a taper ratio of 0.5, and elliptical shape where the trailing edge of the blade is expressed with an elliptical function. The rotor thrust and electric power were measured, and the thrust coefficient and figure of merit was computed. The flow-field produced by the ducted rotors was measured in the near-field using laser Doppler velocimetry techniques. The inflow velocity approximately 3 mm upstream of the rotor blade leading edge was acquired and its significance on blade aerodynamics and performance is analyzed. Time-averaged contours of cross-stream vorticity reveal intense hub and blade tip vortex structures, which are impacted by the shape of the blade, particularly in the blade tip region. Tip vorticity as well as streamwise turbulence intensity and turbulent kinetic energy in this region were mitigated for the rotors with trapezoidal and elliptical blades. However, the turbulent structure of the jet produced by all three rotor blade shapes showed similarity at a mere 2.8 rotor diameters downstream of the rotor. This finding emphasizes the importance of blade design on the near-field dynamics of ducted rotor flows for aircraft propulsion.

Influence of surface slip on hydrodynamics and flow field around a two-dimensional hydrofoil at a moderate Reynolds number

In the present study, the effects of surface slip on the hydrodynamics and flow around a two-dimensional National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0012 hydrofoil are systematically investigated by numerical methods. The objective is to fully understand the effects of surface slip on the streamlined body. Three slip positions (both surfaces, the upper surface, the lower surface) and eight slip lengths (in a wide range from 1 to 500 μm) under 0°–10° angles of attack are fully investigated at a moderate Reynolds number of 1.0 × 106. Surface slip has been found to increase lift and reduce drag by postponing the flow transition, laminar separation bubble, and flow separation on the hydrofoil surface under both surfaces and the upper surface slip conditions. Slip has also been found to induce upshift of the mean velocity profile, decrease the displacement thickness, and mitigate the turbulent kinetic energy in the flow field. However, counterintuitive phenomenon occurs under the lower surface slip condition, where the total drag of the hydrofoil is increased compared to that under the no slip condition. Total drag increase is found mainly due to the increase in the pressure drag under small slip lengths and relatively large angles of attack. Flow maps demonstrating the complex interaction between different surface slip conditions and the flow field are further presented. The results suggest that surface slip can not only reduce drag, but also increase the drag of the streamlined body, which shall provide valuable insights for practical applications of slippery materials.

Experimental investigation of partial and cloud cavitation control on a hydrofoil using bio-inspired riblets

We experimentally investigated a passive cavitation control approach to control partial and cloud cavitation on a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0015 hydrofoil. For this approach, we implemented two different kinds of mesoscale bio-inspired riblets, known as scalloped riblets and sawtooth riblets, on the suction side of the hydrofoil near its leading edge. We studied the dynamics of partial and cloud cavitation on the hydrofoil with and without two kinds of riblets using a high-speed camera. In addition, we performed hydro-acoustic measurements to analyze the effects of this passive control on the cavitation induced noise in the wake of the hydrofoils. We considered flows at Reynolds numbers 0.5 × 106 and 0.6 × 106 with the hydrofoils at angles of attack of 8° and 10°. Results revealed that the cloud cavitation shedding on the hydrofoil suction surface was mitigated significantly due to the reduction in the re-entrant jet momentum. Also, the influence of tip vortex cavitation was reduced on the modified hydrofoils. Furthermore, the large-scale cavitation induced noise for the unmodified hydrofoil was located mostly at lower frequency in the range of 30 Hz, which was similar to the cavity shedding frequency. The small-scale vortex-induced noise concentrated at relative higher frequency between 100 and 120 Hz. The noise reduction in this study was achieved by scalloped and sawtooth riblets at low frequency domain and for some cases at higher frequency range by manipulating of the cavitation oscillation mechanism and elimination of a large-scale cavitation structure. This study provided new insight into controlling the destructive effects of cavitation using bio-inspired riblets, which should be relevant for various engineering applications.

Numerical investigation on cavitation and induced noise reduction mechanisms of a three-dimensional hydrofoil with leading-edge protuberances

In this work, a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 66 hydrofoil with leading-edge protuberances is designed. The large eddy simulation combined with the Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model is used to obtain a satisfactory result as compared with the experimental measurement, integrating the permeable Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings equation for cavitation-induced noise analysis. It is found that the special leading-edge geometric structure deflects the incoming flow, creating two counter-rotating streamwise vortices at the peak shoulders. These lead to upwash and downwash effects and alter the pressure distribution on the suction side. The low pressure localized in the trough facilitates the advancement of the leading-edge cavitation while severely limiting the spanwise development of the cloud cavity, shortening the cavitation evolution by about 20% and reducing the maximum cavitation volume by about 35%. Analysis using the vorticity transport equation indicates that different vorticity transport equation splitting terms play dominant roles at different stages of cavitation evolution. Although the cavitation induces disturbances in the primary vortex, the effect is limited. Acoustic simulation shows that the bionic structure can reduce the total sound pressure level by 7.8–8.3 dB. The spherical noise reduction is not as effective as expected due to the similar cavitation volume acceleration processes of the two hydrofoils. However, the pressure fluctuation caused by the collapse of the cloud cavity is reduced by cavitation suppression, which reduces the linear noise. In addition, the protuberances suppress the generation of large-scale vortex systems and transform them into smaller ones, resulting in reduced spanwise correlation and coherence of the shedding vortices. This is a critical factor in noise reduction. Finally, we hypothesize that the unstable noise reduction is related to the streamwise vortices in the trough regions. These vortices increase the momentum exchange within the boundary layer, affecting its stability and weakening the acoustic feedback loop.

On the investigation of the aerodynamics performance and associated flow physics of the optimized tubercle airfoil

In the present study, the evolutionary multi-objective optimization is employed to design the optimum amplitude and wavelength of sinusoidal leading-edge tubercles for the NACA0012 (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) airfoil to improve its aerodynamic performance at Reynolds number of 5.0 × 104 than that of the NACA0012 smooth leading-edge or baseline airfoil. Here, the optimum tubercle is found to have an amplitude of 11.71% and a wavelength of 25% of the baseline airfoil chord, respectively. Through a combination of in-house water tunnel experiments and numerical simulations, it is additionally established that the optimized tubercle airfoil exhibits superior lift and reduced drag characteristics compared to the baseline airfoil, particularly in the post-stall high angle of attack regime. Furthermore, it is noticed that the optimized tubercle design enhances the gap between large separation regions or stall cells along the tubercle airfoil span during the post-stall regime. Consequently, a more pronounced attached flow regime is developed between the consecutive stall cells, contributing to the tubercle airfoil's improved aerodynamic characteristics compared to the baseline airfoil. Our investigations also revealed that the formation and arrangement of the stall cells on the tubercle airfoil span are associated with a biased wake mechanism similar to the one observed in the wake of side-by-side arranged circular cylinders.

Mortality rates in Norwegian HEMS—a retrospective analysis from Central Norway

BackgroundHelicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) provide rapid and specialized care to critically ill or injured patients. Norwegian HEMS in Central Norway serves an important role in pre-hospital emergency medical care. To grade the severity of patients, HEMS uses the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ (NACA) severity score. The objective of this study was to describe the short- and long term mortality overall and in each NACA-group for patients transported by HEMS Trondheim using linkage of HEMS and hospital data.MethodsThe study used a retrospective cohort design, aligning with the STROBE recommendations. Patient data from Trondheim HEMS between 01.01.2017 and 31.12.2019 was linked to mortality data from a hospital database and analyzed. Kaplan Meier plots and cumulative mortality rates were calculated for each NACA group at day one, day 30, and one year and three years after the incident.ResultsTrondheim HEMS responded to 2224 alarms in the included time period, with 1431 patients meeting inclusion criteria for the study. Overall mortality rates at respective time points were 10.1% at day one, 13.4% at 30 days, 18.5% at one year, and 22.3% at three years. The one-year cumulative mortality rates for each NACA group were as follows: 0% for NACA 1 and 2, 2.9% for NACA 3, 10.1% for NACA 4, 24.7% for NACA 5 and 49.5% for NACA 6. Statistical analysis with a global log-rank test indicated a significant difference in survival outcomes among the groups (p < 2⋅10− 16).ConclusionAmong patients transported by Trondheim HEMS, we observed an incremental rise in mortality rates with increasing NACA scores. The study further suggests that a one-year follow-up may be sufficient for future investigations into HEMS outcomes.

Wing design optimization and stall analysis with Co-flow Jet active control

Coupled with Co-flow Jet (CFJ) technology, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II was utilized for the multi-objective combination optimization of an optimized Co-flow Jet wing, based on National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 6421. A high-precision numerical simulation using the delayed detached eddy simulation model was performed on the optimized wing to investigate the three-dimensional flow separation characteristics after static stall. The stall improvement was investigated by adjusting the momentum coefficient of the injection. The results show that the optimized wing exhibits significant improvements in aerodynamic performance and corrected aerodynamic efficiency. At an angle of attack of 10°, the average lift increased by 16.25% and the drag decreased by 27.23% compared to the CFJ6421 wing, while effectively addressing the problem of low modified aerodynamic efficiency of the CFJ wing at lower angles of attack. By utilizing higher momentum and improving the boundary layer control capability, flow separation is effectively suppressed, thus achieving the goal of stall recovery of the CFJ wing.

Theoretical and experimental study of the spanwise effect of turbulence on the aerodynamic lift on a wing with different aspect ratios

In this paper, a combined theoretical and experimental study is carried out to investigate the spanwise effect of turbulence on the aerodynamic lift on a wing with different aspect ratios. The ratio of the mean square variance of the aerodynamic lift calculated by the commonly used strip theory and the two-wavenumber buffeting theory is analyzed comprehensively for the wings with different aspect ratios in turbulence with various integral scales. To validate the theoretical analysis and achieve a deeper understanding of the spanwise effects of turbulence, wind tunnel experiments are performed on National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0015 airfoils in grid-generated turbulent flows with different integral scales. The results demonstrate that it is essential to use the two-wavenumber buffeting theory to account for the spanwise effect of turbulence when calculating the aerodynamic lifts on wings with small aspect ratios, especially when in small-scale turbulence. The deviations between the equivalent two-wavenumber coherence function and the spanwise effect influence function at low reduced streamwise wavenumbers are the underlying causes for spanwise effects of turbulence. To achieve reliable wind tunnel testing results, appropriate simulations of the ratio of the turbulence integral scale to the chord are very important in the measurements of aerodynamic lifts on finite-span wing sections, especially for those with small aspect ratios.

Use of bitemporal NACA score documentation in prehospital emergency medical services– a retrospective study

BackgroundThe assessment of illness severity in the prehospital setting is essential for guiding appropriate medical interventions. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) score is a validated tool commonly used for this purpose. However, the potential benefits of using bitemporal documentation of NACA scores to capture the dynamic changes in emergency situations remain uncertain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential benefit of bitemporal NACA score documentation in the prehospital setting, specifically in assessing the dynamic changes of emergencies and facilitating quality improvement through enhanced documentation practices.MethodsIn this retrospective study, data from prehospital emergency patients were analyzed who received care from the physician response unit between January 1, 2018, and May 31, 2021. Patient demographics, NACA scores, indications for emergency care, and changes in NACA scores were extracted from medical records. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the associations between NACA scores, emergency categories, indications, and changes in NACA scores.ResultsThe study included 4005 patients, predominantly categorized as NACA III (33.7% at initial assessment, 41.8% at subsequent assessment) and NACA IV (31.6% at initial assessment, 22.4% at subsequent assessment). There was a significant improvement in NACA scores during the provision of prehospital care (p < 0.01). Notably, prehospital emergencies attributed to internal medical, neurological, traumatic, and paediatric causes demonstrated significant improvements in NACA scores (p < 0.01). Gender-specific differences were also observed.ConclusionOur study suggests that the bitemporal documentation of NACA scores can be advantageous in the prehospital setting and may have implications for research, practice, and policy.

New similarity laws reduced from local Mach factors in longitudinal–transverse force theory

The rapid advancement in aeronautics has led to the emergence of intricate dynamic processes and structures, such as vortices, shock waves, flow separation, and turbulence, resulting from the flow around airfoils. Acquiring a profound understanding of these local structures and unraveling the physical mechanisms underlying flow phenomena represents an essential and challenging issue in the field of flight science. In this research, the longitudinal–transverse force theory (L–T force theory), as proposed by previous researchers, is employed to quantitatively assess contributions of local flow structures to aerodynamic forces. Specifically, the research encompasses an analysis of steady and viscous compressible flow over the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE)-2822 airfoil, with free-stream Mach number (M∞) ranging from 0.1 to 2.0. We comprehensively estimate longitudinal forces (L-force) and transverse forces (T-force), along with effects of compressibility on aerodynamic forces. Furthermore, recognizing the necessity for high-precision algorithms in the computation of L–T force theory, this investigation utilizes a sixth-order accuracy algorithm for spatial discretization and differencing. Our analysis reveals that the influence of compressibility and the contributions of L-forces to aerodynamic forces become increasingly significant in high M∞ regimes as shearing processes weaken. Additionally, a new similarity law is established to characterize aerodynamic forces acting on the RAE-2822 airfoil based on a novel moderating factor, ζmo, reduced from local Mach factors in the L–T force theory. This coefficient, ζmo, elucidates the degree to which transverse processes are modulated by longitudinal processes. Various angles of attack α and airfoils have also been analyzed, including National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)0012 and NACA0006, by introducing a parameter denoted as κ to further validate the universality of the new similarity laws. The results demonstrate a high degree of accuracy in fitting the aerodynamic coefficients.

A novel accelerated convergence method for solving adjoint equations based on modal reduction

The efficiency of adjoint-based aerodynamic shape optimization depends critically on the solution efficiency of adjoint equations. In this letter, we employ the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) method to analyze the adjoint field samples and project them from the physical space into a low-order modal space. Subsequently, the full-order adjoint equations are reduced to low-order equations using the POD modes. Thus, we can efficiently predict the initial values for pseudo-time marching, thereby accelerating the solution of adjoint equations. Results indicate that the high-order POD modes are crucial for constructing the low-dimensional system. Moreover, this method can be seamlessly integrated with our previously established Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) acceleration method to form a POD+DMD acceleration approach. Application of this approach to the flow past a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0012 airfoil demonstrates a noteworthy 80.9% reduction in iteration numbers when solving the adjoint equations. Even for the airfoil located on the upper boundary of sampling space, the number of iterations is still reduced by 72.6%. Therefore, we believe that the proposed method holds significant promise for improving the efficiency of adjoint-based aerodynamic shape optimization in future research.

The Impact of Flapping Trajectories on the Induced Thrust of a Single and Tandem Configuration Flapping Foil

Abstract The development of propulsion devices by using the propulsive mechanisms of aquatic animals such as fish is a challenging task. An attempt has been made to replicate the fishtailed motion that caused thrust in the current investigation. At a low Reynolds number of Re = 1173, the propulsive performance of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 0012 flapping foils enduring distinct flapping trajectories (fishtailed and elliptical) is evaluated. A dynamic mesh arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework is used to understand the desired flapping motion of the foils while solving the flow via incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Along with the flapping trajectory, the effects of the Strouhal number (St), inter-foils distance (Lx), and phase angle (φ) between the foils on the produced thrust are examined. The results demonstrate that using tandem configuration flapping foil with elliptical and fishtailed flapping can significantly increase the induced thrust and propulsive efficiency.

Numerical investigation of cavitation vortex dynamics in different cavitation patterns coupled implicit large eddy simulation and boundary data immersion method

The objective of this paper is to investigate the flow characteristics of different cavitation flow patterns around a NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) 66 hydrofoil by applying the BDIM (boundary data immersion method) and ILES (implicit large eddy simulation) with an artificial code. Meanwhile, an artificial compressibility method is also employed to consider the effects of compressibility on cavitating flow. The results present that the numerical method can effectively capture different cavitation patterns, which agrees well with the previous experimental data. Subsequently, the detailed analysis of vortex structures and dynamics for the non-cavitation (σ = 3.0), sheet cavitation (σ = 2.0), and cloud cavitation (σ = 1.6) cases with the Liutex method and the vortex enstrophy transport equation have been investigated. When cavitation occurs, the degree of turbulence and the enstrophy in the flow field have been enhanced, due to the disturbance of the velocity field. For sheet cavitation, complex vortex structures appear in the attached cavity region with high-intensity enstrophy causing by the highly intense velocity and density gradient. As the cavitation pattern transits from the sheet cavitation to the cloud cavitation, more complex vortex structures can be observed in the cavitation region. Furthermore, the value and the fluctuation amplitude of enstrophy intensity increase significantly under the effect of reentrant jet. Analysis of the enstrophy transport equation indicates that the vortex stretching term and dilatation term for cloud cavitation increase relatively significantly with the movement of the reentrant flow and are highly dependent on the cavitation evolution. In addition, the region affected by the baroclinic torque also increases.

Hydrodynamics of pitching hydrofoil in a plane Poiseuille flow

Several advanced medical and engineering tasks, such as microsurgery, drug delivery through arteries, pipe inspection, and sewage cleaning, can be more efficiently handled using micro- and nano-robots. Pressure-driven flows are commonly encountered in these practical scenarios. In our current research, we delve into the hydrodynamics of pitching hydrofoils within narrow channels, which may find their potential applications in designing bio-inspired robots capable of navigating through pressure-driven flows in confined channels. In this paper, we have conducted a numerical investigation into the flow characteristics of a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 0012 hydrofoil pitching around its leading edge within a plane Poiseuille flow using a graphical processing unit accelerated sharp interface immersed boundary method solver. Our study considers variations of the wall clearance from 20% to 50% of the channel width. We have explored the hydrodynamic features such as instantaneous and time-averaged values of lift, drag, input power, and torque for different wall clearance ratios and oscillation frequencies in the range of Reynolds number 100–200 based on the mean velocity and channel width. We have tried to explain the force, torque, and power variations by examining the flow features in the near wake. While the hydrodynamic coefficients showed significant variations with changes in wall clearance and the Strouhal number (St), we did not observe significant variations with alterations in the Reynolds number (Re).

Dynamic hysteresis process in tip vortex cavitation

In this Letter, experiments are conducted on tip vortex cavitation (TVC) over a stationary elliptical hydrofoil with the cross section of NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) 662−415 in a water tunnel. The state of TVC at various cavitation numbers, inflow velocities, and angles of attack is tested. Several macroscopic phase transition processes of TVC are discovered within the hysteresis loop with the operating conditions unchanged, and these new phenomena are defined as the dynamic hysteresis (DH) processes. In addition, the noise characteristics are analyzed to further study the DH. Similar noise spectra are obtained for the DH processes under different working conditions, with a major peak of the same frequency regardless of whether vortex singing occurs or not.

Accelerate the numerical convergence of incompressible flows: Novel preconditioned characteristic boundary conditions

For the first time, the locally power-law preconditioning method (LPLPM) is used to formulate the preconditioned characteristic boundary conditions (CBCs). Then, it is implemented to solve the numerical modeling of unsteady and steady flows from viscous to turbulent regimes. The compatibility equations and Riemann invariants are mathematically derived and then utilized to the incompressible flow solvers as suitable boundary conditions. This method discretizes time derivative and governing equations' space terms by applying the four-stage, fourth-order Runge–Kutta method, and a finite volume, respectively. The preconditioning matrix in the LPLPM is automatically derived by local velocity sensors through a power-law formulation. The baseline k−ω is applied as an appropriate turbulence model. Several test cases are conducted around airfoils of Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales, NACA0012 (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), and S809 at varied angles of attack of 0–20 and Reynolds numbers of 500 to 5.25 × 106 to examine the effectiveness and accuracy of the LPLPM employing preconditioned CBCs. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to examine how numerical parameters affect the simulation. The results show that using preconditioned CBCs in conjunction with LPLPM at the artificial boundary is precise, reliable, and computationally efficient in simulating viscous/turbulent flows. Furthermore, it is also concluded that the present approach considerably improves the convergence speed contrasted to the simplified boundary conditions.

Rock falls while high-altitude mountaineering – More often in the last years? Evidence from the Swiss alps

ObjectivesOne risk while high-altitude mountaineering despite falls or stranding are rock falls. Due to the climatic change such events might have become potentially more common yielding to the research question to elucidate rock falls while high-altitude mountaineering in the Alps of Switzerland. DesignA retrospective analysis was conducted from the central registry of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) during the observational period from 2009 to 2020. ResultsA total of 266 cases of rock falls was detected during an observational period yielding to in average 22.2 ± 7 emergency cases per year. No increase nor decrease of the number of cases over time (R2 = 0.0019) was detected. The average age of a victim was 50.2 ± 18.6 years. The mean of the NACA-Score (NACA = National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) was 2.7 ± 1.4 implying a moderate injury, however not life threatening. The NACA-Score slightly decreased over time indicating that emergencies have become less severe (R2 = 0.1379). The injury pattern was relatively equal distributed between upper and lower extremity. ConclusionsThe slight decrease in the severity of the events might be a consequence of increasing security standards over the observational period. The fact that the average victim of an emergency action was around 50 years, might indicate that stone falls are a constant risk as it can be suggested that alpinists with this age are more risk averse than younger alpinists. As findings were analyzed in a retrospective design, a quasi-prospective design might be helpful while directly analyzing emergencies after occurrence with interviews of involved persons. These hints could be used constructively in order to improve security recommendations.