The Application of the γ-Re θt Transition Model Using Sustaining Turbulence

The freestream turbulence intensity is an important parameter for Tollmien–Schlichting waves and is also used as one of the key variables for the local- and transport-equation-based transition model in the simulations. To obtain the similar turbulence level in the vicinity to the aircraft as the turbulence intensity measured in a wind tunnel or in free-flight conditions, the sustaining turbulence term can be used for the transition model. It is important to investigate the model behavior when the sustaining turbulence is coupled with the frequently used SST-variants for transitional flows. Additionally, it is essential to obtain a nearly independent solution using the same transition model for different users on different meshes with similar grid resolution for purposes of verification and validation. So far, the relevant work has not been performed sufficiently and the sustaining turbulence technology introduces non-independent results into the freestream values. Thus, a modified sustaining turbulence approach is adopted and investigated in several test cases, including a computational effort on NACA0021 test case at 10 angles of attack. The results indicate that the modified sustaining turbulence in conjunction with the SST-2003 turbulence model yields results nearly independent to the freestream value of ω for the prediction of both streamwise and crossflow transition for two-dimensional flows without increasing computational effort too much. For three-dimensional flow, the sensitivity to initial value of ω is reduced significantly as well in comparison to the SST-based transition model, and it is highly recommended to use present sustaining turbulence technology in conjunction with the SST-2003-based transition model for engineering applications.