Numerical Analysis of Pressure and Velocity Distribution on NACA 0012 Airfoil Using Two CFD Computational Domains

Yuni Vadila; Rayhan Stevano; Randi Pernama Putra

Authors

Yuni Vadila Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia Author
Rayhan Stevano Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Barat, Indonesia Author
Randi Pernama Putra Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia Author

Keywords:

NACA 0012, CFD, pressure coefficien, flow separation, vortex

Abstract

The NACA 0012 airfoil is widely applied in aeronautics, wind turbines, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This study investigates the pressure and velocity distributions on a NACA 0012 airfoil at a 5° angle of attack using two computational domain configurations in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD): a block domain and a tilted-airfoil domain. Simulations were conducted in OpenFOAM using a steady-state incompressible solver with the k-ω SST turbulence model and SIMPLE algorithm at an inlet velocity of 16 m/s (Re ≈ 1.1×10⁶). The computational mesh consisted of 482,700 cells and 157,100 nodes. Validation against experimental and numerical references showed good agreement, with pressure coefficient deviations below 5%. The results indicate a significant negative pressure gradient on the upper airfoil surface, maximum velocity reaching 16.15 m/s, and the presence of wake asymmetry and initial flow separation near the trailing edge. Differences in turbulent kinetic energy between the two configurations demonstrate that domain setup significantly influences turbulence development and aerodynamic prediction accuracy. This study highlights the sensitivity of CFD simulations to computational domain configuration in airfoil aerodynamic analysis.

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