Statistical analysis of computational fluid dynamics solutions from the drag prediction workshop

A simple, graphical framework is presented for robust statistical evaluation of results obtained from N-version testing of a series of Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics codes. The solutions were obtained by a variety of code developers and users for the June 2001 Drag Prediction Workshop sponsored by the AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Technical Committee. The aerodynamic configuration used for the computational tests is the DLR, German Aerospace Research Center DLR-F4 wing-body combination previously tested in several European wind tunnels and for which a previous N-version test had been conducted. The statistical framework is used to evaluate code results for 1) a single cruise design point, 2) a drag polar at a single Mach number, and 3) drag rise at three values of lift.