Current trends in modelling research for turbulent aerodynamic flows

Abstract

The engineering tools of choice for the computation of practical engineering flows have begun to migrate from those based on the traditional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes approach to methodologies capable, in theory if not in practice, of accurately predicting some instantaneous scales of motion in the flow. The migration has largely been driven by both the success of Reynolds-averaged methods over a wide variety of flows and the inherent limitations of the method itself. Practitioners, emboldened by their ability to predict a wide variety of statistically steady equilibrium turbulent flows, have now turned their attention to flow control and non-equilibrium flows, i.e. separation control. This review gives some current priorities in traditional Reynolds-averaged modelling research as well as some methodologies being applied to a new class of turbulent flow control problem.