COMPOSITE CFD ANALYSIS AND

CHARACTERIZATION OF EXHAUST EFFECT ON

AERODYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF A SUPERSONIC
AIRCRAFT

By

Muhammad Arsalan Arif

(131215)

Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics (IAA)
Air University
Islamabad, Pakistan
2016

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 COMPOSITE CFD ANALYSIS AND
CHARACTERIZATION OF EXHAUST EFFECT ON
AERODYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF A SUPERSONIC
AIRCRAFT

by

Muhammad Arsalan Arif

(131215)

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Masters of Science

in
Aerospace Engineering

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jehanzeb Masud

Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics (I AA)
Air University
Islamabad, Pakistan
2016

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Certified that the contents and the form of the thesis entitled “COMPOSITE CFD
ANALYSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXHAUST EFFECT ON AERODYNAMIC
BEHAVIOR OF A SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT” submitted by Muhammad Arsalan Arif,
have been found satisfactory for the requirement of degree in Master of Science.

Supervisor / Advisor Name : Dr. Jehanzeb Masud

Signatures :

Internal Member : Dr. Shakil Sheikh

Signatures :

External Member : Dr. Farooq Bin Akram

Signatures :

Head of Department : Dr. Jehanzeb Masud

Signatures :

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To my parents, wife and daughter

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am foremost grateful to Allah Almighty who inspired me to carry this research

effort to its completion and gave me the strength to overcome the challenges.

I am highly indebted to my thesis advisor, Dr Jehanzeb Masud for his tolerance

and serenity throughout my research phase. His stepwise guidance and support

throughout the numerical computational phase and resolving my queries with immense

patience made the task possible. I am gratified for his guidance through the post

processing phase and analysis of the results. I am also grateful to my Co-Advisor Dr.

Shakil Sheikh and External Advisor Dr. Farooq Bin Akram for dedicating their time and

efforts during my research.

I am thankful to the Institute of Avionics and Aeronautics for granting me access

to the Computer Aided Engineering Lab.

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 Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...............................................................................................iv

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1

1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Brief History ................................................................................................................. 2

1.3 Rationale of Study........................................................................................................ 2

1.4 Aim of Research .......................................................................................................... 3

1.5 Scope of Research ...................................................................................................... 4

1.6 Challenges in Current Research .................................................................................. 4

1.7 Thesis Summary .......................................................................................................... 5

CHAPTER 2: EXHAUST NOZZLE AND CHARACHTERISTICS ................................ 6

2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 6

2.2 Exhaust Nozzle ............................................................................................................ 7

2.3 Under-expanded Jets ....................................................................................................... 8

2.4 Models of Under-expanded Jets .................................................................................10

2.4.1 Expansion .................................................................................................................10

2.4.2 Source Flow ..............................................................................................................10

2.4.3 Jet Boundary .............................................................................................................12

2.4.4 Viscous Effects .........................................................................................................13

2.5 Studies on Free jets ....................................................................................................13

2.6 CFD Analyses on Free Jets ........................................................................................14

2.7 Shear Layers ..............................................................................................................15

CHAPTER 3: AIRCRAFT MODELING AND MESHING ................................................ 17

3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................17

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 3.2 Aircraft, Intake and Exhaust Geometries .....................................................................17

3.3 Cleaning of Geometry .................................................................................................18

3.4 Mesh Generation ........................................................................................................19

3.4.1 Surface Mesh Generation ....................................................................................20

3.4.2 Volume Mesh Generation ....................................................................................20

3.4.3 Boundary Layer Generation in ICEM/CFD ...........................................................22

3.4.4 Estimating Placement of First Grid Point ..............................................................22

3.5 Grid Independence .....................................................................................................24

CHAPTER 4: COMPUTATIONAL MODEL AND SOLVER SETUP ............................... 26

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................26

4.2 Conservation Equations ..............................................................................................26

4.3 Turbulence Model .......................................................................................................27

4.4 Spalart and Allmaras Model ........................................................................................28

4.5 Viscous Flow Treatment of Spalart-Allmaras Model ....................................................28

CHAPTER 5: PROBLEM SETUP .................................................................................. 29

5.1 Solution Strategy ........................................................................................................29

5.2 Solver ........................................................................................................................29

5.3 Flow Modeling .............................................................................................................30

5.3.1 Boundary Conditions for Aircraft with Intake and Exhaust Duct ............................31

CHAPTER 6: ANALYTICAL MODELLING OF RD-93 TURBOFAN ENGINE ................ 33

6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................33

6.2 RD-93 Turbofan Engine ..............................................................................................33

6.3 Analytical Approach ....................................................................................................35

6.4 RD-93 Characteristics .................................................................................................36

6.5 Components Characteristics .......................................................................................36

6.6 Results and Validation of Data ....................................................................................38

CHAPTER 7: EXHAUST NOZZLE CHARACTERISTICS ............................................. 39

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 7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................39

7.2 Nozzle Pressure Ratio, Engine Pressure Ratio and Engine Temperature Ratio ..........39

7.3 Pressure Distribution...................................................................................................39

7.3.1 Pressure Distribution at Mach 0.6 ........................................................................40

7.3.2 Pressure Distribution at Mach 0.8 ........................................................................42

7.3.3 Pressure Distribution at Mach 1.5 ........................................................................45

7.4 NPR, EPR and ETR ....................................................................................................47

7.4.1 Analysis on NPR ..................................................................................................48

7.4.2 Analysis on EPR ..................................................................................................49

7.4.2 Analysis on ETR ..................................................................................................50

7.5 Comparison of CFD Results with Analytical Results ...................................................51

7.6 Exit Velocity and Thrust Calculations ..........................................................................53

CHAPTER 8: AIRCRAFT AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS ................................ 57

8.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................57

8.2 Results at Mach 0.6 ....................................................................................................57

8.2.1 Analysis at Mach 0.6 ............................................................................................59

8.3 Results at Mach 0.8 ....................................................................................................61

8.3.1 Analysis at Mach 0.8 ...............................................................................................63

8.4 Results at Mach 1.5 ....................................................................................................64

8.4.1 Analysis at Mach 1.5 ............................................................................................66

8.5 Comparative Analysis .................................................................................................67

8.5.1 Subsonic Analysis .....................................................................................................71

8.5.2 Supersonic Analysis ..................................................................................................73

8.6 Reasons for difference between CFD and Wind Tunnel Data .....................................74

8.6.1 Reynolds Number Corrections .............................................................................74

8.6.2 Exhaust Nozzle Analysis ......................................................................................74

8.6.3 Aircraft Model.......................................................................................................75

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 8.6.4 Wave Drag ...........................................................................................................75

8.7 Drag Polar ..................................................................................................................76

8.7.1 Analysis ....................................................................................................................76

8.8 Lift to Drag Ratio vs AOA ............................................................................................77

CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................... 78

9.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................78

9.2 Conclusions ................................................................................................................78

9.3 Recommendations ......................................................................................................80

Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 81

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 List of Tables

Table 1: Grid Independence ......................................................................................................24

Table 2: Solver Settings ............................................................................................................30
Table 3: Boundary Conditions ...................................................................................................31
Table 4: General Characteristics of RD-93 Engine ....................................................................36
Table 5: RD-93 Engine Components Characteristics ................................................................37
Table 6: Results at Mach No 0.6 ...............................................................................................47
Table 7: Results at Mach No 0.8 ...............................................................................................48
Table 8: Results at Mach No 1.5 ...............................................................................................48
Table 9: Comparative Analysis ..................................................................................................51
Table 10: Comparison of Exit Velocity and Mach No .................................................................54
Table 11: Thrust at Idle Power and Full AB (Design MFR) ........................................................55
Table 12: Thrust at Idle Power and Full AB (Off Design MFR) ..................................................56

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