In this thesis we describe the development of Reynolds- averaged Navier Stokes code for the flow past two- dimensional configuration. Particularly, emphasis has been laid on the study of low Reynolds number airfoil aerodynamics. The thesis consists of five chapters covering the back ground history, problem formulation, method of solution and discussion of the results and conclusion. Chapter I deals with a detailed background history of low Reynolds number aerodynamics, problem associated with it, state of the art, its importance in practical applications in aircraft industries. Chapter II describes the mathematical model of the flow physics and various levels of approximations. Also it gives an account of complexity of the equations at low Reynolds number regarding flow separation, transition and reattachment. Chapter III describes method of solution, numerical algorithm developed, description of various upwind schemes, grid system, finite volume discrieti-zation of the governing equations described in Chapter II. Chapter IV describes the application of the newly developed Navier Stokes code for the test cases from GAMM Workshop proceedings. Also it describes validation of the code for Euler solutions, Blasius solution for the flow past flat plate and compressible Navier Stokes solution for the flow past NACA 0012 Airfoil at low Reynolds number. Chapter V describes the application of the Navier Stokes code for the more test cases of current practical interest . In this chapter laminar separation bubble characteristics are investigated in detail regarding formation, growth and shedding in an unsteady environment. Finally the conclusion is drawn regarding the robustness of the newly developed code in predicting the airfoil aerodynamic characteristics at low Reynolds number both in steady and unsteady environment. Lastly, suggestion for future work has been highlighted.

For turbulent flow calculations, some of the well-known turbulence models in the literature are applied on a previously developed Navier-Stokes solver designed to handle laminar flows. A finite volume formulation, which is cell-based for inviscid terms and cell-vertex for viscous terms, is used for numerical discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations in conservative form. This formulation is combined with one-step, explicit time marching Lax-Wendroff numerical scheme that is second order accurate in space. To minimize non-physical oscillations resulting from the numerical scheme, second and fourth order artificial smoothing terms are added. To increase the convergence rate of the solver, local time stepping technique is applied. Before applying turbulence models, Navier-Stokes solver is tested for a case of subsonic, laminar flow over a flat plate. The results are in close agreement with Blasius similarity solutions. To calculate turbulent flows, Boussinesq eddy-viscosity approach is utilized. The eddy viscosity (also called turbulent viscosity), which arises as a consequence of this approach, is calculated using Cebeci-Smith, Michel et. al., Baldwin-Lomax, Chien&rsquo / s k-epsilon and Wilcox&rsquo / s k-omega turbulence models. To evaluate the performances of these turbulence models and to compare them with each other, the solver has been tested for a case of subsonic, laminar - transition fixed - turbulent flow over a flat plate. The results are verified by analytical solutions and empirical correlations.