Incorporation of an Actuator Disc for Lattice Wing Modelling in an unstructured Navier-Stokes Solver

Abstract

This paper focuses on the numerical prediction of the flow around a lattice wing. Due to the complex geometry of such a configuration the actuator disc approach has been chosen to reduce the computational effort. Using this modelling, the lattice wing is replaced by artificial boundary conditions where the forces due to the grid fin are computed using semi-empirical formulae. The incorporation of this approach in an unstructured Navier-Stokes solver has been achieved. This method allows the prediction of the global axial and normal forces acting on a lattice wing in function of its geometrical characteristics. The numerical results obtained for a lattice wing alone are compared against experimental data for different Mach numbers and angles of attack in order to validate the method.