Numerical study of turbulent trailing-edge flows with base cavity effects using URANS

Turbulent flows over lifting surfaces exhibiting trailing-edge vortex shedding often cause adverse and complex phenomena, such as self-induced vibration and noise. In this paper, a numerical study on flow past a blunt-edged two-dimensional NACA 0015 section and the same section with various base cavity shapes and sizes at high Reynolds numbers has been performed using the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) approach with the realisable κ–ε turbulence model. The equations are solved using the control volume method of second-order accuracy in both spatial and time domains. The assessment of the application of URANS for periodic trailing-edge flow has shown that reasonable agreement is achieved for both the time-averaged and fluctuating parameters of interest, although some differences exist in the prediction of the near-wake streamwise velocity fluctuation magnitudes. The predicted Strouhal numbers of flows past the squared-off blunt configuration with varying degrees of bluntness agree well with published experimental measurements. It is found that the intensity of the vortex strengths at the trailing-edge is amplified when the degree of bluntness is increased, leading to an increase in the mean square pressure fluctuations. The numerical prediction shows that the presence of the base cavity at the trailing-edge does not change the inherent Strouhal number of the 2D section examined. However, it does have an apparent effect on the wake structure, local pressure fluctuations and the lift force fluctuations. It is observed that the size of the cavity has more influence on the periodic trailing-edge flow than its shape does.