Comparison of four different models of vortex generators

A detailed comparison between four different models of vortex generators is presented in this paper. To that end, a single Vortex Generator on a flat plate test case has been designed and solved by the following models. The first one is the traditional mesh-resolved VG and the second one, called Actuator Vortex Generator Model (AcVG), is based on the lifting force theory of Bender, Anderson and Yagle, the BAY Model, which provides an efficient method for computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of flow with VGs, and the forces are applied into the computational domain using the actuator shape model.

This AcVG Model enables to simulate the effects of the Vortex Generators without defining the geometry of the vortex generator in the mesh and makes it easier for researchers the investigations of different vortex generator lay outs. Both models have been archived by the in house EllipSys CFD code using Reynold-Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) methods.

The third model is the experimental one, where measurements were carried out in a low speed closed-circuit wind tunnel utilizing Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) with a single vortex generator positioned on a vertical wall in the center of the test section. The fourth model, used as a quantitative comparison, is the analytical model of the primary vortex based in the helical structure of longitudinal embedded vortex, which can reduce the complex flow to merely four parameters: circulation, convection velocity, vortex core radius and pitch.

The goal of this article is to validate the AcVG Model compared with a fully meshed VG, a wind tunnel experiment and an analytical VG model.