A quantitative study of grid sensitivity on transonic Navier-Stokes solutions

The paper describes the results of a quantitative study of grid sensitivity on the Navier-Stokes solutions of transonic flows. The study is conducted using a well-tested compressible 2D Navier-Stokes solver. The flow is computed using several grids generated using a standard algebraic C-grid generator with the following grid parameters varying: grid size, grid distance near the body, far field location, and resolution in leading and trailing edge areas. Using these grids, the transonic flow over RAE 2822 corresponding to Case 9 of the AGARD experimental data set is simulated. The present study shows that the computed flow is sensitive to the above-mentioned grid parameters, most significantly on the location of the first grid line around the airfoil. It also seems to suggest a minimum quantitative property of the grids to be used for a satisfactory flow simulation