Predicting Transition for the 6:1 Prolate Spheroid Using the RANS Equations

The incorporation of the effects of laminar-to-turbulent transition in CFD has become a topic of growing importance, due to the inability of well established turbulence models in accurately predicting transition. This work details simulations done for two of the three-dimensional test cases of the first AIAA Transition Modeling and Prediction Workshop. These are the NASA 3D Bump-in-Channel, and the 6:1 prolate spheroid. The results for the first case are used to verify the implementation of the underlying turbulence model. On the other hand, the calculations performed for the prolate spheroid at three different angles of attack, using two distinct transition models, highlight some of the physical and numerical challenges that accompany the use of this type of model. These challenges consist of the influence of the boundary conditions at the inlet for the variables of the turbulence model, and the modeling of crossflow transition, which is unaccounted for in the original formulation of the two selected transition models.