External Aerodynamic Simulations in a rotating Frame of Reference

This thesis presents the development of a tool integrated in the UNS3D code, proprietary of Alenia Aermacchi, for the simulation of external aerodynamic flow in a rotating reference frame, with the main objective of predicting propeller-aircraft integration effects. The equations in a rotating frame of reference have been formulated in terms of the absolute velocity components; in this way, the artificial dissipation needed for convergence is lessened, as the Coriolis source term is only introduced in the momentum equation and it is not necessary a transformation of the variables between the rotating and no rotating zones. An Explicit Algebraic Reynolds Stress turbulence model is used. A first assessment of effectiveness of this method is made computing stability derivatives of a NACA 0012 airfoil. Finally, steady Navier-Stokes and Euler simulations of a four-blade single-rotating propeller are presented, demonstrating the efficiency of the chosen approach in terms of computational cost.