Computation of non-stationary shock-wave/cylinder interaction using adaptive-grid methods

A numerical study of shock wave propagation over a cylinder is presented. Hybrid, structured-unstructured adaptive grids are employed for the numerical solution of the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations. A second-order Godunov-type scheme is employed for the discretization of the inviscid fluxes, while central differences are used for the viscous terms. The time integration is obtained by a second-order prediction-corrector scheme. Simulation of the unsteady gasdynamic phenomena around the cylinder is obtained at different incident-shock Mach numbers. The shock-wave diffraction over the cylinder is investigated by means of various contour plots, as well as pressure and skin friction distributions. The calculations reveal that the Euler solutions are very close to the Navier-Stokes ones in the first half of the cylinder, but large differences between the two solutions exist in the second half of the cylinder and the wake of the flow field, where strong viscous-inviscid interaction occurs. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.