A numerical investigation of the wake of an axisymmetric body with appendages

We report wall-resolved large-eddy simulations of an axisymmetric body of revolution with appendages. The geometry is that of the DARPA SUBOFF body at 0 yaw angle and a Reynolds number equal to $\mathit{Re}_{L}=1.2\times 10^{6}$ (based on the free-stream velocity and the length of the body). The computational grid, composed of approximately 3 billion nodes, is designed to capture all essential flow features, including the turbulent boundary layers on the surface of the body. Our results are in good agreement with measurements available in the literature. It is shown that the wake of the body is affected mainly by the shear layer from the trailing edge of the fins and the turbulent boundary layer growing along the stern, while the influence of the wake of the sail is minimal. In agreement with the reference experiments, a bimodal behaviour for the turbulent stresses is observed in the wake. This is due to the displacement of the maximum of turbulent kinetic energy away from the wall along the surface of the stern, where the boundary layer is subjected to strong adverse pressure gradients. The junction flows, produced by the interaction of the boundary layer with the leading edge of the fins, enhance this bimodal pattern, feeding additional turbulence in the boundary layer and the downstream wake. The evolution of the wake towards self-similarity is also investigated up to nine diameters downstream of the tail. We found the mean flow approaches this condition, while its development is delayed by the wake of the appendages, especially by the flow coming from the tip of the fins. However, the width of the wake and its maximum momentum deficit follow the expected power-law behaviour on the side away from the sail. The second-order statistics, on the other hand, are still far from self-similarity, which is consistent with experimental observations in the literature.