Results are shown here from 3 compressible codes
so that the user may compare their own compressible code results. Multiple grids were
used so the user can see trends with grid refinement. Different codes will behave
differently with grid refinement depending on many factors (including code order of accuracy
and other numerics),
but it would be expected that as the grid is refined the results
will tend toward an "infinite grid" solution that is the same.
Be careful when comparing details: any differences in boundary conditions or flow conditions
may affect results.
Three independent compressible RANS codes,
CFL3D, FUN3D, and TAU, were used to compute this
bump-in-channel flow with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model
(version SA-RC-QCR2000 - see full description on
Spalart-Allmaras page).
The full series of 5 grids were used.
CFL3D is a cell-centered structured-grid code, and FUN3D and TAU are
node-centered unstructured-grid codes (they can solve on mixed element grids, so this case
was computed on the same hexahedral grid used by CFL3D).
All codes were run with full Navier-Stokes,
and all codes used first-order upwinding for the advective terms of the turbulence model.
Details about the codes can be found on their respective websites,
the links for which are given on this site's
home page.
The codes were not run to machine-zero iterative convergence, but an attempt was made to converge
sufficiently so that results of interest were well within normal engineering tolerance and
plotting accuracy. For example, for CFL3D the density residual was typically
driven down below 10-13. It should be kept in mind that many of the files given below
contain computed values directly from the codes,
using a precision greater than the convergence tolerance (i.e., the values
in the files are not necessarily as precise as the number of digits given).
It should be noted that the RC and QCR2000 corrections have relatively minor effect in this case,
but the influence of each is detectable (compared to SA) as the grid is refined.
The effect of RC+QCR (compared to SA) is the main focus of this page, but near the bottom of the page additional
results (in smaller plots) detail the differences between SA, SA-RC, and SA-RC-QCR2000.
The SA results alone can also be found on the page:
SA Expected Results - 2D Bump-in-channel.
The SA-RC results alone can also be found on the page:
SA-RC Expected Results - 2D Bump-in-channel.
For the CFL3D, FUN3D, and TAU tests reported below, the turbulent inflow boundary condition used for SA was:
.
For the interested reader, typical input files for this problem are given here:
CFL3D:
FUN3D:
The following plots show the convergence of the wall skin friction coefficient
at the bump peak (at x=0.75), in front of the bump peak (at x=0.6321975), and
aft of the peak (at x=0.8678025) with
grid size for the three codes.
The plots show results for both SA and SA-RC-QCR2000 so that the results can be compared.
In the plot the x-axis is plotting 1/N1/2, which is proportional to
grid spacing (h).
At the left of the plot, h=0 represents an infinitely fine grid.
All codes go toward approximately the same result on an infinitely refined grid.
Using the uncertainty estimation procedure from the Fluids Engineering Division of the ASME (Celik, I. B.,
Ghia, U., Roache, P. J., Freitas, C. J., Coleman, H., Raad, P. E.,
"Procedure for Estimation and Reporting of Uncertainty Due
to Discretization in CFD Applications," Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 130, July 2008, 078001, https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2960953), described in Summary of Uncertainty Procedure,
the finest 3 grids yield the following for skin friction coefficient at x=0.75, x=0.6321975, and
x=0.8678025 for SA-RC-QCR2000:
| Code |
Computed apparent order, p |
Approx rel fine-grid error, ea21 |
Extrap rel fine-grid error, eext21 |
Fine-grid convergence index, GCIfine21 |
| x=0.75 |
| CFL3D |
1.43 |
0.090% |
0.053% |
0.066% |
| FUN3D |
1.60 |
0.162% |
0.080% |
0.100% |
| TAU |
1.93 |
0.176% |
0.062% |
0.078% |
| x=0.6321975 |
| CFL3D |
oscillatory convergence |
0.019% |
N/A |
N/A |
| FUN3D |
3.75 |
0.005% |
0.000% |
0.083% |
| TAU |
oscillatory convergence |
0.152% |
N/A |
N/A |
| x=0.8678025 |
| CFL3D |
1.38 |
0.214% |
0.134% |
0.167% |
| FUN3D |
1.41 |
0.394% |
0.237% |
0.296% |
| TAU |
2.51 |
0.095% |
0.020% |
0.025% |
The data file that generated the above plot is given here:
cf_convergence_sarcqcr_75.dat,
cf_convergence_sarcqcr_632.dat, and
cf_convergence_sarcqcr_868.dat.
The following plots show: (1) total drag coefficient, (2) pressure drag coefficient,
(3) viscous drag coefficient, and (4) total lift coefficient for the bump.
In this bump case the surface skin friction
is singular (tends toward infinity) at the leading edge. The finer the grid, the more nearly singular
the local behavior on a finite grid.
There is also locally anomalous behavior in Cf at the back end of the bump wall (at x=1.5), as
is often seen in CFD solutions near trailing edges (see, e.g., Swanson and Turkel, AIAA Paper 87-1107, 1987
https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1987-1107).
Both of these behaviors may have some influence
on the convergence/order-property of the integrated viscous component of the drag coefficient.
As seen in the following plots, all codes are tending toward similar integrated force coefficient values
as the grid is refined.
Using the uncertainty estimation procedure from the Fluids Engineering Division of the ASME (Celik, I. B.,
Ghia, U., Roache, P. J., Freitas, C. J., Coleman, H., Raad, P. E.,
"Procedure for Estimation and Reporting of Uncertainty Due
to Discretization in CFD Applications," Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 130, July 2008, 078001, https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2960953), described in Summary of Uncertainty Procedure,
the finest 3 grids yield the following for force coefficients of SA-RC-QCR2000:
| Code |
Quantity |
Computed apparent order, p |
Approx rel fine-grid error, ea21 |
Extrap rel fine-grid error, eext21 |
Fine-grid convergence index, GCIfine21 |
| CFL3D |
Cd |
2.15 |
0.149% |
0.043% |
0.054% |
| CFL3D |
Cd,p |
3.15 |
0.437% |
0.056% |
5.387% |
| CFL3D |
Cd,v |
0.96 |
0.109% |
0.116% |
0.144% |
| CFL3D |
CL |
1.00 |
0.424% |
0.420% |
0.527% |
| FUN3D |
Cd |
oscillatory convergence |
0.061% |
N/A |
N/A |
| FUN3D |
Cd,p |
2.77 |
0.514% |
0.088% |
0.110% |
| FUN3D |
Cd,v |
0.58 |
0.142% |
0.287% |
0.359% |
| FUN3D |
CL |
1.15 |
0.157% |
0.129% |
0.161% |
| TAU |
Cd |
oscillatory convergence |
0.028% |
N/A |
N/A |
| TAU |
Cd,p |
2.95 |
0.327% |
0.049% |
0.061% |
| TAU |
Cd,v |
0.56 |
0.078% |
0.166% |
0.208% |
| TAU |
CL |
0.74 |
0.039% |
0.059% |
0.073% |
The data file that generated the above plot is given here:
force_convergence_sarcqcr.dat.
The surface skin friction coefficient from all 3 codes on the finest 1409 x 641 grid
over the entire bump wall is shown in the next plot (for both SA and SA-RC-QCR2000).
Again, local anomalous behavior exists near the leading
edge (x=0) due to singular behavior of the solution,
as well as near the trailing edge (x=1.5) due to numerical influences.
These behaviors differ for the codes, and result in small local deviations that
can be seen when zoomed into the two locations. But all codes are seen to yield nearly identical results
over most of the bump wall.
The data file that generated the above plot is given here:
cf_bump_sarcqcr.dat.
The surface pressure coefficient from all codes on the finest 1409 x 641 grid
over the entire bump wall is shown in the next plot.
All codes yield nearly identical results, and there is very little difference between SA and SA-RC-QCR2000.
One area of minor differences between the models is highlighted in the second zoomed-in plot.
The data file that generated the above plots is given here:
cp_bump_sarcqcr.dat.
The eddy viscosity contours (nondimensionalized by freestream laminar viscosity) from SA-RC-QCR2000
on the finest 1409 x 641 grid are shown
in the following plots (y-scale expanded for clarity). They are essentially indistinguishable.
(Note legends do not necessarily reflect min and max values.)
The data files that generated the above plots are given here:
mut_contours_cfl3d_sarcqcr.dat.gz (9.6 MB) (structured, at cell centers),
mut_contours_fun3d_sarcqcr.dat.gz (16.5 MB) (unstructured, at grid points), and
mut_contours_tau_sarcqcr.dat.gz (30.0 MB) (unstructured, at grid points). Note
that these are all gzipped
Tecplot
formatted files, so you must either have Tecplot or know how to read their format in order to use these
files.
Using the finest 1409 x 641 grid, an extracted nondimensional eddy viscosity profile at
x=0.75 is shown below.
The data file that generated the eddy viscosity profile at x=0.75 is given here:
mut_0.75_sarcqcr.dat.
U-velocity profiles are shown at the two x-locations of x=0.75 and x=1.20148 for
the finest grid in the following plot. There is very little difference between the SA and SA-RC-QCR2000 profiles.
(Here, for clarity, only CFL3D and TAU results are shown. However, FUN3D results are approximately the same.)
The data file that generated the above plot is given in
uvel_sarcqcr.dat.
Some of the specific differences between the three model versions SA, SA-RC, and SA-RC-QCR2000 can be seen in the
following plots (CFL3D and FUN3D only).
Generally, the biggest effect comes from the RC correction, while the QCR2000 correction has less of an effect for
this case.
The data for these plots can be found above for SA and SA-RC-QCR2000, and on the
SA-RC Expected Results - 2D Bump-in-channel page for SA-RC.
The main advantage to employing the quadratic constitutive relation (QCR) in SA-RC-QCR2000 is that it better represents
the turbulent normal stress differences in boundary layers. These have very little effect for this case,
but may be important in some situations (for example, when computing flow near corners).
For details about the normal stress differences that result from QCR2000, please refer to the
SA-QCR2000 Expected Results - 2D Zero Pressure Gradient Flat Plate or the
SA-RC-QCR2000 Expected Results - 2D Zero Pressure Gradient Flat Plate page.
The SA model relies on the minimum distance to the nearest wall. For this case,
contours of this function
are shown in the following plot, for the grid 1 level down from the finest
grid.
The data file that generated the above plot is given in
bump_1levdown.mindist.dat.gz (gzipped file,
3.9 MB, unstructured, at grid points). Note
that this is a gzipped Tecplot
formatted file, so you must either have Tecplot or know how to read their format in
order to use it.
It is important to note that computing minimum distance by searching along grid lines is
incorrect, and is not the same as computing actual minimum distance to the nearest wall for this grid. Using
the former method will yield some minor differences in the results. The following sketches
demonstrate the concept of minimum distance. Improperly-calculated minimum distance
functions will particularly produce incorrect results for cases in which the
grid lines are not perfectly normal to the body surface.
Note that when the nearest wall point is a sharp convex corner or edge (like an airfoil or wing trailing edge) then the
correct minimum distance is the distance to that corner or edge, which is not a wall normal.
Return to: 2D Bump-in-channel Verification Case Intro Page
Return to: Turbulence Modeling Resource Home Page
Recent significant updates:
10/27/2018 - minor revision of CFL3D results
07/10/2018 - corrected the CFL3D SA-RC-QCR2000 results
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Last Updated: 03/01/2023
