Variable-Fidelity Wake Prediction Methods for Improving CFD

Accurate performance prediction is essential for developing rotorcraft and supporting flight operations. Current grid-based CFD can, in principle, model the complete rotorcraft, but is hampered by excessive numerical dissipation of vorticity. Thus, common methods fail to predict adequately the unsteady rotor and fuselage loading. Moreover, the critical dynamic interface (DI) problem of a rotorcraft approaching and landing on a ship cannot be predicted fully with current methods. Continuum Dynamics, Inc. (CDI) and Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) propose to directly address these limitations while simultaneously supporting naval operations by developing a suite of variable-fidelity wake prediction methods for improving CFD and enabling breakthrough DI simulation capabilities. This approach builds upon work at CDI and GT in CFD, free-wakes and hybrid analyses to directly address issues of improving rotorcraft CFD accuracy, reducing turn-around time by coupling CFD to CDI’s CHARM and VorTran-M wake solvers. Moreover, given the inherent capabilities of the proposed tools, performing fully-interacting fully-coupled DI simulations will become viable for the first time! Phase I will see the preliminary integration of the flow solvers and proof-of-concept calculations will be performed. Phase II would see formal validation, demonstration, and commercialization of these approaches for accelerating and improving rotorcraft CFD.