A study of numerical simulation of supersonic conical nozzle exhaust

While Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a common tool in the design and analysis of a wide variety of fluid flow problems, the accuracy of CFD simulations remains dependent on many physical and numerical variables, namely the physical model of fluid flow (the governing equations and turbulence model), the numerical algorithm and its order of accuracy, the quality and density of mesh etc. Differences in physical and numerical models can lead to significant errors limiting the usefulness of CFD in design and analysis. In order to understand the effect of physical and numerical variables on the solution, a number of benchmark problems have been proposed by the aerospace industry, under the auspices of AIAA, both in the areas of external aerodynamics and propulsion. The aim of this study is to conduct CFD simulations of a benchmark problem in aerospace propulsion - the simulation of steady supersonic exhaust from a conical convergent nozzle. The goal is to identify the best physical and numerical models for accurate simulations as determined by comparisons against the experimental data. It is hoped that such benchmark simulations for canonical flows can result in the establishing of best practice guidelines for CFD users.