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CHAPTER 10 SUPERSONIC FLOW OVER A FLAT PLATE

10.1 Introduction
It can be described by complete Navier Stokes Equations, which has
mixed mathematical nature
A time-marching solution is well-posed
There is no exact solution
10.2 The Physical Problem
Fig. 10.1, 10.2
10.3 The Numerical Approach
Explicit finite-difference method
10.3.1

The Governing Flow Equations

Assumptions: no body force, no volumetric heating, 2-D

Eqs. 2.33 2.81
Four equations
Nine unknowns
Five additional equations are needed
General form of governing equations:
Eq. 10.4
10.3.2

The Setup

Computational Domain: rectangular structured grid

Fig. 10.3
10.3.3

The Finite-Difference Equations

PDE
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Eq. 10.4 a
FDE
Steps 1 to 4 are repeated until the flow-field variables approaches a
steady-state value
Second-order accuracy
Decode the U vector to obtain the primitive variables (Eq. 10.10)
10.3.4

Calculation of Step Sizes in Space and Time

Fig. 10.4
Step size in x direction:
Eq. 10.11
Step size in y direction
Eq. 10.12 to 10. 13
Time step (Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy criterion):
Eq. 10.16
Where: aIjj is the local speed of sound in meters per second; K is the
Courant number; K acts as a fudge factor
10.3.5

Initial and Boundary Conditions

First-order in time and second-order in space

Initial and boundary conditions on velocity and temperature are
necessary
Fig. 10.5
Initial Condition
Properties at each grid point are initialized at their respective free stream
values except at the surface

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Boundary Conditions
Case 1: leading edge (1,1)
No slip: u(1,1) = v(1,1) = 0
T(1,1) and p(1,1) are assumed at their respective free stream values
Case 2: Inflow/upper boundary
u, T, and p are assumed at their respective free stream values.
v=0
Case 3:surface of the plate
no-slip: u=v=0
T=Tw
P is calculated at the wall by extrapolating from the values at the two
points 2 and 3.
Case 4: outflow
All properties are calculated based on an extrapolation from two interior
points
10.4 Organization of the Navier-Stokes Code
10.4.1 Overview
Flow charts should be used
Fig. 10.6
The MAIN program drives the entire code
a). Establishing flow conditions, computational domain, and flow
properties
b). Marching the code in time
DYNVIS and THERMC are function subroutines for dynamic viscosity
and thermal conductivity
TAUXX, TAUXY, TAUYY, QX, and QY are for viscous effects
BC is for boundary conditions
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CONVERT is for convergence check (e.g. the solution is converged when

the density at each point changes no more than 1.0x10-8 between time
steps, or the program stops when a specified number of maximum
iterations are reached even though the solution has not converged)
MDOT is for confirmation of mass conservation
OUTPUT is data output
10.4.2 The main Program
Iteration method
Freestream conditions, and several thermodynamics constants must be
specified or calculated
Fig. 10.7
10.4.3

The MacCormack Subroutine

The explicit MacCormack algorithm is a suitable method for solving both

steady and unsteady flows at moderate to low Re numbers.
Its not a satisfactory method for solving high Re number flows, where the
viscous regions become very thin. Otherwise, the mesh must be highly
refined in order to accurately resolve the viscous regions, leading to small
steps and long CPU time.
The procedure is multi-level (predictor/corrector) scheme (second-order
accuracy in space)
a. predictor level: uses forward difference approximation
b. corrector level: uses backward difference approximation
10. 5 Final Numerical Results: Steady State Solution
The marching technique is used to march the flow field to the steadystate solution
Grid sensitivity needs be performed (4339 times steps for 70x70)
Plots are nondimensionalized
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Figs. 10.10 10.17

Some Comments about Navier-Stokes Equations
They are nonlinear and mixed-type.
can be divided as compressible
incompressible (elliptic-parabolic)

(hyperbolic-parabolic)

and

They can be used for both laminar and turbulent flows

a. for turbulent flows, a turbulent model is needed (k- two-equation
model is widely used).
They can provide a steady-state or a time-accurate solution
For problems involving complex interactions, separation, and mixed flow
fields composed of subsonic and supersonic regimes, the Navier-Stokes
equations are initiated with an assumed data set within the domain and
marched in time to steady state
a. the intermediate solutions have no physical meaning)
b. The maximum allowable time step dictated by the stability requirement
is used with the minimum number of time steps, and thus CPU time.
For time-accurate solutions (transient solutions), a physically correct set
of data is used to initiate the solution
a. The time step must not only satisfy the stability requirements, but also
be consistent with the physical requirement of the problem

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