Wall-Resolved Large-Eddy Simulation of an Airfoil Using High-Order Spectral Element CFD Solver NEKO

Thomas T, Theron JN, Manelil NP, Stoevesandt B, Schlatter P (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Fluids MDPI

Book Volume: 11

Article Number: 237

Journal Issue: 9

DOI: 10.3390/fluids11090237

Abstract

This study employs wall-resolved Sigma SGS Large-Eddy Simulation (WR-LES) of the Eppler 387 airfoil to evaluate the higher-order Spectral Element Method (SEM) CFD solver NEKO at a moderate Reynolds number of 10⁵ and an angle of attack of 4 degrees. 2.5D simulation is performed with a span of 10% chord length using a polynomial order of 3, resulting in 300,960 elements and approximately 19 million Gauss-Lobatto-Legendre (GLL) quadrature points. Aerodynamic force coefficients and pressure distribution along the airfoil are used to evaluate the SEM solver and to validate results against wind-tunnel experimental data from NASA Technical Memorandum 4062 and OpenFOAM 2D RANS (simpleFoam) simulations (k- (Formula presented.) SST, k- (Formula presented.) SST Langtry–Menter, and k- (Formula presented.) SST CND). NEKO predicts the pressure distribution in good agreement with the experimental results; however, the transition point is captured slightly downstream of the experimentally observed location. The solver predicts the lift coefficient matching experimental values up to the 3rd decimal place, but the drag is overestimated. This discrepancy may be attributed to the absence of inflow turbulence in the numerical setup, which is likely present in the wind-tunnel experiment. This study demonstrates both the potential and limitations of higher-order SEM solver NEKO for CFD simulation.

Authors with CRIS profile

Philipp Schlatter Lehrstuhl für Strömungsmechanik (LSTM)

Involved external institutions

Fraunhofer-Institut für Windenergiesysteme (IWES) / Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems

Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Thomas, T., Theron, J.N., Manelil, N.P., Stoevesandt, B., & Schlatter, P. (2026). Wall-Resolved Large-Eddy Simulation of an Airfoil Using High-Order Spectral Element CFD Solver NEKO. Fluids, 11(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids11090237

MLA:

Thomas, Tinto, et al. "Wall-Resolved Large-Eddy Simulation of an Airfoil Using High-Order Spectral Element CFD Solver NEKO." Fluids 11.9 (2026).

BibTeX: Download