Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes/full-potential coupled analysis for viscous transonic flow

A novel technique for the prediction of three-dimensional steady and unsteady viscous flows past arbitrary configurations is described. The flowfield is partitioned into an inner region adjacent to the solid surface and an outer region away from the solid surface. The solution procedure uses a three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes solver in the inner vortical region and a three-dimensional unsteady full-potential flow solver in the outer irrotational region. These two solvers are tightly coupled and integrated simultaneously in time. This coupled analysis enables efficient and accurate computation of transonic flows, including unsteady viscous effects. Details of the coupling procedure are described, along with numerical validation of the coupled formulation