The onset of dynamic stall at a high, transitional Reynolds number

Dynamic stall due to a ramp-type pitching motion is investigated on the NACA 0012 airfoil at chord Reynolds number of Re-c = 1.0 x 10(6) through the use of wall-resolved large-eddy simulation. Emphasis is placed on the unsteady boundary-layer interactions that develop as the airfoil approaches stall. At this Reynolds number it is shown that turbulent separation moves upstream across much of the airfoil suction surface. When turbulent separation reaches the leading-edge separation bubble, a bursting event is initiated leading to a strong coherent leading-edge vortex structure. This vortex wraps up the turbulent shear layer to form a large dynamic stall vortex. The use of large-eddy simulation elucidates the roll of the laminar separation bubble in defining the onset of the dynamic stall process. Comparisons are made to identical simulations at lower Reynolds numbers of Re-c = 0.2 x 10(6) and 0.5 x 10(6). This comparison demonstrates trends in the boundary-layer mechanics that explain the sensitivity of the dynamic stall process to Reynolds number.