Reynolds-Stress Model Computations of the NASA Juncture Flow Experiment

Numerical simulations of the NASA Juncture Flow Experiment are carried out, employing a Reynolds-stress model. A transformation of the length-scale determining variable is suggested for improving the numerical robustness of the model. Results obtained with different unstructured flow solvers on different sets of grids show very good agreement, except for velocity and Reynolds-stress profiles in the vicinity of the predicted separation region. A recently developed length-scale correction and, particularly, prescribing transition on the fuselage and wing increase the predicted size of the separation region, where the variation is on the order of the experimental uncertainty. Detailed comparison of velocity and Reynolds-stress profiles with experimental data reveal a general deficiency of the model in predicting the peak of the streamwise normal stress and the distribution of all Reynolds stresses in the vicinity of the separation region. However, all predicted sizes of the separation region are in fair agreement with the experimental data.