Numerical Study of a Cascade Unsteady Separation Flow
A CFD solver is developed to solve a 3D, unsteady, compressible Navier-Stokes equations with the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model to study the unsteady separation flow in a high incidence cascade. The second order accuracy is obtained with the dual time stepping technique. The code is first validated for its unsteady simulation capability by calculating a 2D transonic inlet diffuser flow. Then a 3D steady state calculation is carried out for the cascade at an incidence of 10°. The surface pressure distributions compare reasonably well with the experiment measurement. Finally, the 3D unsteady simulation is carried out with 3 inlet Mach numbers at the incidence of 10°. The separation bubble oscillation and the static pressure oscillation on the leading edge of the blade suction surface exhibit clear periodicity. The details of the leading edge vortex shedding is captured. The inlet Mach number is shown to be an important factor to determine the pattern of the separation flow. In the subsonic inlet flow region, increasing the inlet Mach number enlarges the separation region and the pressure oscillation intensity. The separation flow is weakened when the inlet flow becomes supersonic.