Aerodynamic simulation of airship ambient flows with high attack angles and analysis on turbulence models and parameters

Airship ambient flows with high attack angles were studied, including separated flows and vortex motions. In this paper, aerodynamic characteristics of airship ambient flows with high attack angles were investigated numerically. Turbulence models and turbulence intensity were also considered. Numerical results provided detailed aerodynamic information of flows around the airship, such as distributions of circumferential and radial pressure coefficients, oil flow distributions and aerodynamic forces with different turbulence models. Results show that SST κ-ε and Realizable κ-ε are more suitable for the aerodynamic simulation than S-A. Moreover, lift and drag coefficients vary linearly with the turbulence intensity I when I > 0.5%. The concept of equivalent Reynolds number is introduced, which is found to have great effects on aerodynamic characteristics within a certain range.