Integrating Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics approaches using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Techniques

The concept of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is used to integrate Experimental Fluid Dynamics (EFD) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approaches. The key idea is to take advantage of the optimality of the POD technique and its capability to extract the most energetic patterns of complex aerodynamic flow fields.

First, the concept of Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) is used to obtain a simple quantitative criterion to compare EFD measurements to CFD results. The comparison is based on the POD modes, extracted from each set of data. The analysis of the energy content of the modes allows to draw important conclusions about the role of the latter. The method is applied in the study of the flow field around a rectangular cylinder, which is either static or oscillating in a low-speed flow field.

The second EFD/CFD integration technique deals with the reconstruction of a flow field from measured data, making use of CFD simulation results. The POD modes are first extracted from several CFD data sets, using a snapshot POD approach. Then the entire flow field of measured data can be reconstructed using a gappy POD method. The technique is applied to the transonic flow around a civil aircraft type wind tunnel model. The EFD measurements consist in pressure coefficient data from pressure ports or pressure-sensitive paint. It is shown that the complete flow field can be reconstructed from the pressure data with satisfactory accuracy and at relatively low computational cost.

The work demonstrates the potential of the POD technique to integrate EFD and CFD data, leading to a combined, validated and complete analysis of the flow under consideration.