Contrail microphysics in the near wake of a realistic wing through RANS simulations

This paper focuses on steady Reynolds Average Navier–Stokes simulations (RANS) of ice particles growth in the near field of a wing-injector configuration. The multiphysics multiphase flow solver CEDRE, enriched with a microphysical model, has been developed in order to simulate the impact of a more real aircraft geometry in contrail formation studies. As a first evaluation case, a simplified aircraft description, i.e. a NACA0012 2D wing with two injectors, has been used. Ice formation has been simulated by assuming water condensation and instantaneous freezing on activated soot particles, initially emitted by aircraft engines. Our investigation focuses on the near field, extending from the nozzle exit until eight wing spans. Although the main goal is to address the question of ice formation, the aerodynamic flow field has been investigated and numerical results compared with existing experimental data. The first results indicate that the exhaust jet is correctly wrapped around the vortex and that the pattern of dilution qualitatively matches observations in the near field. Sensitivity studies to humidity and to the initial soot particle radius have also been performed.