Large-eddy simulations of the NACA23012 airfoil with laser-scanned ice shapes

TL;DR

This study uses wall-modeled large-eddy simulations to accurately model the aerodynamics of various ice shapes on an airfoil, demonstrating the importance of ice geometry resolution for reliable predictions in icing conditions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that wall-modeled LES can effectively simulate complex iced airfoil geometries, with accurate representation of glaze and rime ice effects without additional modeling.

Findings

Wall-modeled LES captures aerodynamic loads with acceptable accuracy.

Larger roughness in glaze ice triggers transition and can be resolved by WMLES.

Rime ice geometries require higher resolution for accurate simulation.

Abstract

In this study, five ice shapes generated at NASA Glenn's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) are simulated at multiple angles of attack (Broeren et al., J. of Aircraft, 2018). These geometries target different icing environments, both early-time and longer-duration glaze and rime ice exposure events, including a geometry that results from using a thermal ice-protection system. Using the laser-scanned geometries, detailed representations of the three-dimensional ice geometries are resolved on the grid and simulated using wall-modeled LES. Integrated loads (lift, drag, and moment coefficients) and pressure distributions are compared against experimental measurements in both clean and iced conditions for several angles of attack in both pre-and post-stall regions. The relevant comparisons to the experimental results show that qualitative and acceptable quantitative agreement with the data is observed across all geometries. Glaze ice formations exhibit larger and highly nonuniform ice features, such as `horns', in contrast to rime ice formations characterized by smaller, uniformly distributed roughness elements. In wall-modeled LES, it was observed that larger roughness scales in the glaze ice that trigger transition can be accurately resolved. Therefore, it is possible for WMLES to accurately capture the aerodynamics of glaze ice shapes without the need for additional modeling. In contrast, rime ice geometries required additional resolution to accurately represent the aerodynamic loads. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the wall-modeled LES technique in simulating the complex aerodynamic effects of iced airfoils, providing valuable insights for aircraft design in icing environments and highlighting the importance of accurately representing ice geometries and roughness scales in simulations.