Numerical study of unsteady flows of viscous incompressible fluids about airfoils by a combined method of order O/h2/ and O/h4/

A study of unsteady separated flows around bodies using the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations is presented. The method is based on a combination of two finite difference schemes, one of second order accuracy, the other of fourth order accuracy. Results obtained for unsteady flow around a circular cylinder are successfully compared with experimental data and with other numerical or semianalytical results. The evolution of Von Karman vortices behind elliptic bodies is analyzed. The time-dependent flow structure is compared with experimental visualizations. The evolution of the flow behind an elliptic cylinder for two different initial conditions is studied.