NEAR-STALL UNSTEADY AERODYNAMIC AND AEROELASTIC SIMULATION CAPABILITIES OF THE OPEN-SOURCE CFD CODE SU2

Abstract

Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) tools have revolutionized the way we design engineering systems. However, the prevalence of numerous established tools, each utilizing different development principles and validation strategies, has given rise to numerical inconsistencies that cast a shadow over their application. Differences in performance and stability predictions for identical compressor designs are widely observed between different CFD tools. Conducting a root cause analysis for these discrepancies is, however, next to impossible, as most codes are proprietary and closed-source. To facilitate technology advancement in CFD and to combine the expertise, creativity and skills of different groups worldwide, the use of the freely available open-source CFD code, SU2, is proposed. This research builds upon a previously published study aimed at launching a comprehensive validation and verification campaign for SU2's turbomachinery capabilities. In the first paper, the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation results from SU2 were compared with experimental data and commercial solver. Due to a lack of experimental data, the unsteady results obtained using Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) in SU2 were compared only against commercial solvers. The recent release of unsteady test data from the Transonic Compressor Darmstadt Open Test Case has prompted this work. In this paper, we further validate SU2's unsteady simulation capabilities against experimental data and demonstrate its capability of predicting the unsteady aerodynamic phenomena at near stall condition, e.g. stall inception and stall-hunting.