IJOMEST : International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): IJOMEST: International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology

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

Yuni Vadila (Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia)
Rayhan Stevano (Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Barat, Indonesia)
Randi Pernama Putra (Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
29 May 2026

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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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijomest

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Subject

Description

The International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (IJOMEST) is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published by the Asosiasi Diseminasi Rekayasa dan Inovasi Teknologi (ADRIT), Indonesia. The journal serves as a platform for researchers, academics, engineers, and ...