Large-eddy simulation of flow separation on an airfoil at a high angle of attack and Re = 105 using Cartesian grids

Incompressible flow separating from the upper surface of an airfoil at an 18° angle of attack and a Reynolds number of Re = 105, based on the freestream velocity and chord length c, is studied by the means of large-eddy simulation (LES). The numerical method is based on second-order central spatial discretization on a Cartesian grid using an immersed boundary technique. The results are compared with an LES using body-fitted nonorthogonal grids and with experimental data.