High-Fidelity Simulation of HIFiRE-5 Boundary-Layer Transition

High-fidelity, time-accurate solutions of the flowfield around the HIFiRE-5 wind-tunnel geometry including postshock perturbations were obtained using the Overflow computational-fluid-dynamics solver. The time-averaged results show that the method reproduces the heat-flux contours measured experimentally via thermal imaging for both quiet and noisy facilities. Time-accurate results allow for the examination of transition phenomena and generation of computational disturbance spectra. It is shown that high-fidelity solutions reproduce the physics measured in experimental testing, and have the potential to serve as a method to accurately extrapolate wind-tunnel tests between facilities, and potentially to flight. The methods presented may also be used as a transition prediction method for flow conditions that cannot be accessed in existing ground facilities.

Automated summary

High-fidelity, time-accurate solutions of the flowfield around the HIFiRE-5 wind-tunnel geometry including postshock perturbations were obtained using the Overflow computational-fluid-dynamics solver. The time-averaged results show that the method reproduces the heat-flux contours measured experimentally via thermal imaging for both quiet and noisy facilities. This method has the potential to accurately extrapolate wind-tunnel tests between facilities and potentially to flight, and can also be used as a transition prediction method for flow conditions that cannot be accessed in existing ground facilities.