Numerical investigation of the low-frequency flow oscillation over a NACA-0012 aerofoil at the inception of stall

High-fidelity large eddy simulation is carried out for the flow field around a NACA-0012 aerofoil at Reynolds number of 9x104, Mach number of 0.4, and various angles of attack around the onset of stall. The laminar separation bubble is formed on the suction surface of the aerofoil and is constituted by the reattached shear layer. At these conditions, the laminar separation bubble is unstable and switches between a short bubble and an open bubble. The instability of the laminar separation bubble triggers a low-frequency flow oscillation. The aerodynamic coefficients oscillate accordingly at a low frequency. The lift and the drag coefficients compare very well to recent high-accuracy experimental data, and the lift leads the drag by a phase shift of pi/2. The mean lift coefficient peaks at the angle of attack of 10.25 degrees, in total agreement with the experimental data. The spectra of the lift coefficient does not show a significant low-frequency peak at angles of attack lower than or equal the stall angle of attack (10.25 degrees). At higher angles of attack, the spectra show two low-frequency peaks and the low-frequency flow oscillation is fully developed at the angle of attack of 11.0 degrees. The behaviour of the flow-field and changes in the turbulent kinetic energy over one low-frequency flow oscillation cycle are described qualitatively.