Validation of European CFD Codes for SCT low-speed high-lift Computations

The validation of several European Navier-Stokes solvers for low-speed high-lift flow prediction around a Supersonic Commercial Transport (SCT) is reviewed. Realistic, project based, accuracy requirements are formulated by industrial partners within the EU research project EPISTLE (European Project for Improvement of Supersonic Transport Low Speed Efficiency) and fulfilled by the partners computations. Mesh density and turbulence model effects on flow topology and aerodynamic coefficients are described and compared to experimental results. It is found that increased mesh density compared to the used mesh is needed for accurate separation onset prediction. The algebraic Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model with Degani-Schiff extension (BLDS) was found to be a good engineering tool and able to predict high-lift flows well into vortex onset