Numerical Simulations of the Instantaneous Flow Fields in a Generic Aircraft Cabin with Various Categories Turbulence Models

Travelling by air had become a popular and an important way for people. The air distribution in aircraft cabin, especially the evolution of instantaneous flow field, was crucial for determining the disease transmission and thermal comfort. However, the instantaneous characteristics of flow field in aircraft cabin was seldom reported and analysed by researchers. In this paper, the Renormalization Group (RNG) k-ε model, V2f model, large-eddy simulation (LES) and detached-eddy-simulation (DES) model were used to investigate the instantaneous characteristics of flow field in B737-200 cabin model. The stability of these flow fields were analysed and qualitatively compared with the PIV experimental results which showed high unsteadiness and unstability. Though the RNG k-ε model and V2f model obtained stable flow fields with very low computing time afforded, they couldn't capture the unstable characteristics of flow field. The LES, with high cost which was difficult to accept, and the DES, with appropriate computing time afforded, revealed the strong unsteady characteristics and high asymmetry of the flow fields in the aircraft cabin. The simulated result with LES could be used to adjust the RANS simulations for widely used in engineering design of aircraft cabin. The DES model also was a promising model with appropriate computing time afforded.