SU2: The Open-Source Software for Non-ideal Compressible Flows

The capabilities of the open-source SU2 software suite for the numerical simulation of viscous flows over unstructured grid are extended to non-ideal compressible-fluid dynamics (NICFD). A built-in thermodynamic library is incorporated to account for the non-ideal thermodynamic characteristics of fluid flows evolving in the close proximity of the liquid-vapour saturation curve and critical point.

The numerical methods, namely the Approximate Riemann Solvers (ARS), viscous fluxes and boundary conditions are generalised to non-ideal fluid properties. Quantities of interest for turbomachinery cascades, as loss coefficients and flow angles, can be automatically determined and used for design optimization. A variety of test cases are carried out to assess the performance of the solver.

At first, numerical methods are verified against analytical solution of reference NICFD test cases, including steady shock reflection and unsteady shock tube. Then, non-ideal gas effects in planar nozzles and past turbine cascades, typically encountered in Organic Rankine Cycle applications, are investigated and debated.

The obtained results demonstrate that SU2 is highly suited for the analysis and the automatic design of internal flow devices operating in the non-ideal compressible-fluid regime.