Computational Fluid Dynamics Validation for a Fin/Bulb/Winglet Keel Configuration

Journal article, 2007

A wind tunnel test of an America's Cup keel model is used for validation of one Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) code and one potential flow/boundary layer code. The effects of grid size, stagnation point anomaly and turbulence model on the RANS results are discussed. Various setups of the potential flow code are compared. The ability of both codes to predict forces and trends is shown. The errors of the RANS code are slightly larger than the experimental error, whereas the potential flow/boundary layer results are within the experimental uncertainty, provided that a correct panelization is used. A comparison of the experimental wake flow pattern to the one computed with RANS is presented. The k-w turbulence model is shown to give the best predictions of the wake.