Effects of spatial order of accuracy on the computation of vortical flowfields

The objective of the present investigation is to assess the effect of the spatial order of accuracy used for the evaluation of the inviscid fluxes on the resolution of higher order quantitites, such as velocity gradients. The viscous terms are computed as second-order accurate with central difference formulas, even though for the explicit part of the algorithm higher order approximations may be used. A viscous/inviscid method is used, and the outer part of the flowfield is computed with the inviscid flow equations. The viscous boundary-layer type flow region close to the body surface is computed with an algebraic eddy viscosity model. Results obtained with the conservative and nonconservative formulations and the viscous/inviscid approach are compared with available experimental data. The effect of grid refinement on the accuracy of the solution is also presented.