Prediction of clamped–clamped elastic panel motion under influence of shock-wave turbulent boundary layer interactions using WMLES with a 3D aeroelastic solver

A loosely coupled approach for the prediction of fluid–structure interactions is investigated for a high Reynolds number flow with a shock-wave impinging on a thin flexible panel. The fluid domain is solved using a wall-modeled large eddy simulation (LES), and the resulting time-resolved flowfields are provided as input to a theoretical–computational aeroelastic solver. The computational study mimics the flow and structural conditions of an existing experiment such that the panel displacements can be compared. The approach shows an improvement over an existing theoretical–computational model. For example, predictions of the maximum static deformation, which is a key metric, are shown to be within 10% of the experimental result. Predictions of the time-dependent oscillations of the panel show sensitivity to the coherence length provided to the aeroelastic solver, as noted by Freydin et al. The discrepancy in the magnitude of predicted time-dependent panel oscillations and those observed in the experiment is hypothesized to be due to the lack of instantaneous coupling present in the method, or possibly due to variability in the static pressure of the wind tunnel throughout the run.