Analysis and Modeling of the Turbulent Diffusion of Turbulent Kinetic Energy in Natural Convection

Buoyant flows often contain regions with unstable and stable thermal stratification from which counter gradient turbulent fluxes are resulting, e.g. fluxes of heat or of any turbulence quantity. Basing on investigations in meteorology an improvement in the standard gradient-diffusion model for turbulent diffusion of turbulent kinetic energy is discussed. The two closure terms of the turbulent diffusion, the velocity-fluctuation triple correlation and the velocity-pressure fluctuation correlation, are investigated based on Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) data for an internally heated fluid layer and for Rayleigh–Bénard convection. As a result it is decided to extend the standard gradient-diffusion model for the turbulent energy diffusion by modeling its closure terms separately. Coupling of two models leads to an extended RANS model for the turbulent energy diffusion. The involved closure term, the turbulent diffusion of heat flux, is studied based on its transport equation. This results in a buoyancy-extended version of the Daly and Harlow model. The models for all closure terms and for the turbulent energy diffusion are validated with the help of DNS data for internally heated fluid layers with Prandtl number Pr = 7 and for Rayleigh–Bénard convection with Pr = 0.71. It is found that the buoyancy-extended diffusion model which involves also a transport equation for the variance of the vertical velocity fluctuation gives improved turbulent energy diffusion data for the combined case with local stable and unstable stratification and that it allows for the required counter gradient energy flux.