A400M Wake Flow Studies Based on RANS CFD Methods on Hybrid Meshes
Abstract
Knowledge of flow conditions in the vicinity of the aft section of military transport aircraft is crucial to ensure the safe and precise deployment of personnel and material. CFD methods used by Airbus and DLR allow valuable predictions of these conditions, taking into account the influence of flow deflectors, sponsons, open cargo hold doors/ramps, as well as propulsion slip-streams. With the requirement of precisely delivering personnel and/or equipment into an area of limited size, while guaranteeing safe conditions for the airframe (as well as paratroops/dropped equipment), military transport aircraft pose unique challenges to aerodynamics. Among them: Guaranteeing the safety of parachutists, whose near aircraft trajectory is significantly influenced by the aircraft wake shedding substantial vorticity (the safe separation problem); and providing safe operational conditions within the aircraft, while open doors strongly influence the internal air flow. Within this study, the hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) multigrid flow-solver TAU, developed by the German research centre DLR, is used to assess the possibility of providing CFD support to such complex flow conditions as those occurring in the A400M military transport programme context.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA476430
Entities
People
- A. Ronzheimer
- F. Doetter
- I. Acisu
- O. Brodersen
- P. Aumann