Wing-tip vortex calculations using a high-accuracy scheme

The objective of the research described in this paper is to investigate the use of computational aeroacoustics methodology and parallel computers to simulate the development of a tip vortex. A three-dimensional Euler code, implemented using the message passing library and Fortran 90 on the IBM SP2, is used to perform calculations of the steady flow. Results are presented for low-speed flow over a finite span NACA 0012 wing. Comparisons with experimental data show that the tip vortex is predicted to diffuse too rapidly, but the high-accuracy scheme does reduce numerical errors. It is argued that Navier-Stokes calculations on a much finer mesh would improve the solutions, but they would be prohibitively expensive for unsteady calculations.