Computational and experimental modelling study of the unsteady airflow over the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

This paper describes a comprehensive experimental and computational modelling study of the aerodynamic environment around the UK's new Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The study has been performed to support the integration of the F-35B Lightning II multi-role fighter with the UK Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth. Unsteady airwakes have been generated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and have been incorporated into the F-35/QEC Integration Flight Simulator at BAE Systems Warton and into the HELIFLIGHT-R research simulator at the University of Liverpool. A small-scale experiment has also been conducted in which a 1.4 m long (1:200) scale model of the QEC was submerged in a water channel and Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry was used to measure the unsteady flow around the ship. Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation CFD was used to model the flow in the water channel and the computed unsteady flow field has been compared with the experimental measurements. The results show generally excellent agreement between the model-scale experiment and CFD. Building on this, full-scale 30-s CFD airwakes have been generated for the nearfield area surrounding the QEC, and for about 400 m astern of the ship to capture the disturbed air flow along the fixed-wing approach glideslope.