Assessment of the OVERFLOW Navier Stokes Code for Various Airplane Components 2001-01-2976

The OVERFLOW chimera grid Navier Stokes code was used to analyze a wide variety of airplane configurations. The code performed reliably and was found to have comparable accuracy to the structured grid code TLNS3D. It is easier to develop overlapping grid blocks to represent a complex configuration than it is to develop grid blocks that must abut one another. The process is inherently modular. One can add or subtract components like tip-lights, compound winglets, struts, nacelles, tails and fairings at will. The gain in grid simplicity is offset by the complication in specifying block connectivity, however. The overset blocks are typically of better quality, but there is a drawback in that it is not always possible to guarantee flux conservation. The recent development of software for automatic connectivity holds promise for the routine use of OVERFLOW by design engineers.