Numerical Prediction of the Aerodynamics and Acoustics of a Tip Leakage Flow Using Large-Eddy Simulation

• Main Authors: David Lamidel, Guillaume Daviller, Michel Roger, Hélène Posson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Turbomachinery, Propulsion and Power
• Subjects: large-eddy simulation; fan noise; tip leakage flow; tip clearance noise
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2504-186X/6/3/27

A Large-Eddy Simulation of the tip leakage flow of a single airfoil is carried out. The configuration consists of a non-rotating, isolated airfoil between two horizontal plates with a gap of 10 mm between the tip of the airfoil and the lower plate. The Mach number of the incoming flow is 0.2, and the Reynolds number based on the chord is 9.3 × 10<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>5</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>. The objective of the present study is to investigate the best way to compute both the aerodynamics and acoustics of the tip leakage flow. In particular, the importance of the inflow conditions on the prediction of the tip leakage vortex and the airfoil loading is underlined. On the other hand, the complex structure of the tip leakage vortex and its convection along the airfoil was recovered due to the use of a mesh adaptation based on the dissipation of the kinetic energy. Finally, the ability of the wall law to model the flow in the tip leakage flow region was proven in terms of wall pressure fluctuations and acoustics in the far-field.