Effectiveness of Side Force Models for Flow Simulations Downstream of Vortex Generators

Vortex generators (VGs) are a widely used means of flow control, and predictions of their influence are vital for efficient designs. However, accurate CFD simulations of their effect on the flow field by means of a body fitted mesh are computationally expensive. Therefore the BAY and jBAY models, which represent the effect of VGs on the flow using source terms in the momentum equations, are popular in industry. In this contribution we examine the ability of the BAY and jBAY model to provide accurate flow field results by looking at boundary layer properties close behind VGs. The results are compared with both body fitted mesh and other source term model RANS simulations of 3D incompressible flows, over flat plate and airfoil geometries. We show the influence of mesh resolution and domain of application on the accuracy of the models and investigate the influence of the source term on the generated flow field. Our results demonstrate the grid dependence of the models and indicate the presence of model errors. Furthermore we find that the total applied force has a larger influence on both the intensity and shape of the created vortex than the distribution of the source term over the cells.