Sensitivity Mapping of TBL Wall-Pressure Spectra with CFD Turbulence Models for Wind Tunnel Test Result Prediction

In the present work, an attempt is made to map the sensitivity of the existing zero pressure gradient (ZPG) turbulent boundary layer (TBL) wall-pressure spectrum models with different TBL parameters, and eventually, with different Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence models, simulated in OpenFOAM and ANSYS Fluent solvers. This statistical study will help future researchers to choose a particular RANS turbulence model vis-à-vis a particular wall-spectrum model to obtain a reasonably accurate wind tunnel result predicting capability. First, the best predicting pressure spectrum models are selected by comparing them with wind tunnel test data. Next, considering the experimental TBL parameters as benchmarks, errors in RANS-produced data are estimated. Furthermore, wall-pressure spectra are calculated following semi-empirical spectrum models using TBL parameter feed obtained from experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Finally, sensitivity mapping is performed between spectrum models and the RANS models, with different normalized wall-normal distances from the flat plate ( \(y^{ + }\) ).