Unsteady shock front waviness in shock-buffet of transonic aircraft

Abstract

The unsteady transonic aerodynamics of a wing-body configuration is investigated by solving the Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations closed with the full Reynolds Stress Model. This work presents the prediction of flow field characteristics during deep shock-buffet penetration of a transport aircraft-representative geometry. Mach number of 0.85, and Reynolds number of 5 million based on the mean chord, are selected to reproduce experimental test conditions that serve as validating datasets. The results obtained give information about both surface and flow field shock-buffet dynamics. An unsteady shock front is observed on the suction side of the wing which gives birth to the so-called buffet cells. Flow field characteristics are dominated by the presence of lambda-shaped shocks and fully separated boundary layer over a significant part of the wing.