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.     

One Equation Model for Turbulent Channel Flow with Second Order Viscoelastic Corrections

A modified second order viscoelastic constitutive equation is used to derive a k–l type turbulence closure to qualitatively assess the effects of elastic stresses on fully-developed channel flow. Specifically, the second order correction to the Newtonian constitutive equation gives rise to a new term in the momentum equation involving the time-averaged elastic shear stress and in the turbulent kinetic energy transport equation quantifying the interaction between the fluctuating elastic stress and rate of strain tensors, denoted by P _w , for which a closure is developed and tested. This closure is based on arguments of isotropic turbulence and equilibrium in boundary layer flows and a priori P _w could be either positive or negative. When P _w is positive, it acts to reduce the production of turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulence model predictions qualitatively agree with direct numerical simulation (DNS) results obtained for more realistic viscoelastic fluid models with memory which exhibit drag reduction. In contrast, P _w  < 0 leads to a drag increase and numerical breakdown of the model occurs at very low values of the Deborah number, which signifies the ratio of elastic to viscous stresses. Limitations of the turbulence model primarily stem from the inadequacy of the k–l formulation rather than from the closure for P _w . An alternative closure for P _w , mimicking the viscoelastic stress work predicted by DNS using the Finitely Extensible Nonlinear Elastic-Peterlin fluid model, which is mostly characterized by P _w  > 0 but has also a small region of negative P _w in the buffer layer, was also successfully tested. This second model for P _w leads to predictions of drag reduction, in spite of the enhancement of turbulence production very close to the wall, but the equilibrium conditions in the inertial sub-layer were not strictly maintained.     

Direct numerical simulation of a freely decaying turbulent interfacial flow

Whereas Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of single-phase flows is already widely used in the CFD world, even for industrial applications, LES of two-phase interfacial flows, i.e. two-phase flows where an interface separates liquid and gas phases, still remains a challenging task. The main issue is the development of subgrid scale models well suited for two-phase interfacial flows. The aim of this work is to generate a detailed data base from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of two-phase interfacial flows in order to clearly understand interactions between small turbulent scales and the interface separating the two phases. This work is a first contribution in the study of the interface/turbulence interaction in the configuration where the interface is widely deformed and where both phases are resolved by DNS. To do this, the interaction between an initially plane interface and a freely decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT) is studied. The densities and viscosities are the same for both phases in order to focus on the effect of the surface tension coefficient. Comparisons with existing theories built on wall-bounded or free-surface turbulence are carried out. To understand energy transfers between the interfacial energy and the turbulent one, PDFs of the droplet sizes distribution are calculated. An energy budget is carried out and turbulent statistics are performed including the distance to the interface as a parameter. A spectral analysis is achieved to highlight the energy transfer between turbulent scales of different sizes. The originality of this work is the study of the interface/turbulence interactions in the case of a widely deformed interface evolving in a turbulent flow.     

A Conditional Moment Closure Study of Chemical Reaction Source Terms in SCCI Combustion

The objective of this study is to evaluate conditional moment closure (CMC) approaches to model chemical reaction rates in compositionally stratified, autoigniting mixtures, in thermochemical conditions relevant to stratified charge compression ignition (SCCI) engines. First-order closure, second-order closure and double conditioning are evaluated and contrasted as options in comparison to a series of direct numerical simulations (DNSs). The two-dimensional (2D) DNS cases simulate ignitions in SCCI-like thermochemical conditions with compositionally stratified n-heptane/air mixtures in a constant volume. The cases feature two different levels of stratification with three mean temperatures in the negative-temperature coefficient (NTC) regime of ignition delay times. The first-order closure approach for reaction rates is first assessed using hybrid DNS-CMC a posteriori tests when implemented in an open source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package known as OpenFOAM\(^{{\circledR }}\). The hybrid DNS-CMC a posteriori tests are not a full CMC but a DNS-CMC hybrid in that they compute the scalar and velocity fields at the DNS resolution, thus isolating the first-order reaction rate closure model as the main source of modelling error (as opposed to turbulence model, scalar probability density function model, and scalar dissipation rate model). The hybrid DNS-CMC a posteriori test reveals an excellent agreement between the model and DNS for the cases with low levels of stratification, whereas deviations from the DNS are observed in cases which exhibit high level of stratifications. The a priori analysis reveals that the reason for disagreement is failure of the first-order closure hypothesis in the model due to the high level of conditional fluctuations. Second-order and double conditioning approaches are then evaluated in a priori tests to determine the most promising path forwards in addressing higher levels of stratification. The a priori tests use the DNS data to compute the model terms, thus directly evaluating the model assumptions. It is shown that in the cases with a high level of stratification, even the second-order estimation of the reaction rate source term cannot provide a reasonably accurate closure. Double conditioning using mixture-fraction and sensible enthalpy, however, provides an accurate first-order closure to the reaction rate source term.     

Some issues related to the modeling of interfacial areas in gas–liquid flows I. The conceptual issues

Two-phase flow modeling has been under constant development for the past forty years. Actually there exists a hierarchy of models which extends from the homogeneous model valid for two-phase flows where the phases are strongly coupled to the two-fluid model valid for two-phase flows where the phases are a priori weakly coupled. However the latter model has been used extensively in computer codes because of its potential in handling many different physical situations.The two-fluid model is based on the balance equations for mass, momentum and energy, averaged in a certain sense and expressed for each phase and for the interface between the phases. The difficulty in using the two-fluid model stems from the closure relations needed to arrive at a complete set of partial differential equations describing the flow. These closure relations should supply the information lost during the averaging of the balance equations and should specify in particular the interactions of mass, momentum and energy between the phases. Another requirement for the interaction terms is that they should satisfy the interfacial balance equations. Some of these terms such as the added mass term or the lift force term do not depend on the interfacial area but some others do, such as the mass transfer term, the drag term or the heat flux term. It is then necessary to model the interfacial area in order to evaluate the corresponding fluxes. Another benefit resulting from the modeling of the interfacial area would be to replace the usual static flow pattern maps which specify the flow configuration by a dynamic follow-up of the flow pattern. All these reasons explain why so much effort has been put during the past twenty years on the modeling and measurement of the interfacial area in two-phase flows.This article contains two parts. The first one deals with the conceptual issues and has the following objectives:

1.
to give precise definitions of the interfacial area concentrations;
2.
to explain the origin of the interfacial area concentration transport equation suggested by M. Ishii in 1975;
3.
to explain some paradoxical behaviors encountered when calculating the interfacial area concentration transport velocity.

     

Subgrid-scale contributions to Lagrangian time correlations in isotropic turbulence

The application of large-eddy simulation （LES） to particle-laden turbulence raises such a fundamental question as whether the LES with a subgrid scale （SGS） model can correctly predict Lagrangian time correlations （LTCs）. Most of the currently existing SGS models are constructed based on the energy budget equations. Therefore, they are able to correctly predict energy spectra, but they may not ensure the correct prediction on the LTCs. Previous researches investigated the effect of the SGS modeling on the Eulerian time correlations. This paper is devoted to study the LTCs in LES. A direct numerical simulation （DNS） and the LES with a spectral eddy viscosity model are performed for isotropic turbulence and the LTCs are calculated using the passive vector method. Both a priori and a posteriori tests are carried out. It is observed that the subgrid;scale contributions to the LTCs cannot be simply ignored and the LES overpredicts the LTCs than the DNS. It is concluded from the straining hypothesis that an accurate prediction of enstrophy spectra is most critical to the prediction of the LTCs.     

Simulation and Modelling of Turbulent Trailing-Edge Flow

Computations of turbulent trailing-edge flow have been carried out at a Reynolds number of 1000 (based on the free-stream quantities and the trailing-edge thickness) using an unsteady 3D Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) code, in which two-equation (k–ε) turbulence models with various low-Re near wall treatments were implemented. Results from a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the same flow are available for comparison and assessment of the turbulence models used in the URANS code. Two-dimensional URANS calculations are carried out with turbulence mean properties from the DNS used at the inlet; the inflow boundary-layer thickness is 6.42 times the trailing-edge thickness, close to typical turbine blade flow applications. Many of the key flow features observed in DNS are also predicted by the modelling; the flow oscillates in a similar way to that found in bluff-body flow with a von Kármán vortex street produced downstream. The recirculation bubble predicted by unsteady RANS has a similar shape to DNS, but with a length only half that of the DNS. It is found that the unsteadiness plays an important role in the near wake, comparable to the modelled turbulence, but that far downstream the modelled turbulence dominates. A spectral analysis applied to the force coefficient in the wall normal direction shows that a Strouhal number based on the trailing-edge thickness is 0.23, approximately twice that observed in DNS. To assess the modelling approximations, an a priori analysis has been applied using DNS data for the key individual terms in the turbulence model equations. A possible refinement to account for pressure transport is discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

From Two-Point Closures of Isotropic Turbulence to LES of Shear Flows

We first recall the EDQNM two-point closure approach of three-dimensional isotropic turbulence. It allows in particular prediction of the infrared kinetic-energy dynamics (with ak ₄ backscatter) and the associated time-decay law of kinetic-energy, useful in particular for one-point closure modelling. Afterwards, we show how the spectral eddy viscosity concept may be used for large-eddy simulations: we introduce the plateau-peak model and the spectral-dynamic models. They are applied to decaying isotropic turbulence, and allow recovery of the EDQNM infrared energy dynamics. Anew infrared k ₂ law for the pressure spectrum, predicted by the closure, is also well verified. Assuming that subgrid scales are not too far from isotropy, the spectral-dynamic model is applied to the channel flow at h ₊= 390, with statistics in very good agreement with DNS, while reducing considerably the computational time. We study with the aid of DNS and LES the case of the channel rotating about an axis of spanwise direction. The calculations allow to recover the universal linear behaviour of the mean velocity profile, with a local Rossby number equal to −1. We present also LES (using the Grenoble Filtered Structure-Function Model), of a turbulent boundary layer passing over a cavity. Finally, we make some remarks on the future of LES for industrial applications. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media: The method of large-scale averaging

The analysis of two-phase flow in porous media begins with the Stokes equations and an appropriate set of boundary conditions. Local volume averaging can then be used to produce the well known extension of Darcy's law for two-phase flow. In addition, a method of closure exists that can be used to predict the individual permeability tensors for each phase. For a heterogeneous porous medium, the local volume average closure problem becomes exceedingly complex and an alternate theoretical resolution of the problem is necessary. This is provided by the method of large-scale averaging which is used to average the Darcy-scale equations over a region that is large compared to the length scale of the heterogeneities. In this paper we present the derivation of the large-scale averaged continuity and momentum equations, and we develop a method of closure that can be used to predict the large-scale permeability tensors and the large-scale capillary pressure. The closure problem is limited by the principle of local mechanical equilibrium. This means that the local fluid distribution is determined by capillary pressure-saturation relations and is not constrained by the solution of an evolutionary transport equation. Special attention is given to the fact that both fluids can be trapped in regions where the saturation is equal to the irreducible saturation, in addition to being trapped in regions where the saturation is greater than the irreducible saturation. Theoretical results are given for stratified porous media and a two-dimensional model for a heterogeneous porous medium.     

Two-phase turbulence models for simulating dense gas-particle flows

The two-fluid model is widely adopted in simulations of dense gas-particle flows in engineering facili- ties. Present two-phase turbulence models for two-fluid modeling are isotropic. However, turbulence in actual gas-particle flows is not isotropic. Moreover, in these models the two-phase velocity correlation is closed using dimensional analysis, leading to discrepancies between the numerical results, theoretical analysis and experiments. To rectify this problem, some two-phase turbulence models were proposed by the authors and are applied to simulate dense gas-particle flows in downers, risers, and horizontal channels; Experimental results validate the simulation results. Among these models the USM-O and the two-scale USM models are shown to give a better account of both anisotropic particle turbulence and particle-particle collision using the transport equation model for the two-phase velocity correlation.     

Measuring turbulence energy with PIV in a backward-facing step flow

Turbulence energy is estimated in a backward-facing step flow with three-component (3C, stereo) particle image velocimetry (PIV). Estimates of turbulence energy transport equation for convection, turbulence transport, turbulence production, viscous diffusion, and viscous dissipation in addition to Reynolds stresses are computed directly from PIV data. Almost all the turbulence energy terms in the backward-facing step case can be measured with 3C PIV, except the pressure-transport term, which is obtained by difference of the other turbulence energy terms. The effect of the velocity spatial sampling resolution in derivative estimations is investigated with four two-dimensional PIV measurement sets. This sampling resolution information is used to calibrate the turbulence energies estimated by 3C PIV measurements. The focus of this study is on the separated shear layer of the backward-facing step. The measurements with 3C PIV are carried out in a turbulent water flow at Reynolds number of about 15,000, based on the step height h and the inlet streamwise maximum mean velocity U₀. The expansion ratio (ER) is 1.5. Turbulence energy budget profiles in locations x/h=4, x/h=6, and x/h=10 are compared with DNS data of a turbulent flow. The shapes of profiles agree well with each other. Different ERs between the PIV case (1.5) and the DNS case (1.2) cause higher values for the turbulence energies measured by PIV than the energies by DNS when x/h=10 is approached. PIV results also show that the turbulence energy level in these experiments is generally higher than that of the DNS data.     

Two-phase turbulence models for simulating dense gas–particle flows

The two-fluid model is widely adopted in simulations of dense gas–particle flows in engineering facilities. Present two-phase turbulence models for two-fluid modeling are isotropic. However, turbulence in actual gas–particle flows is not isotropic. Moreover, in these models the two-phase velocity correlation is closed using dimensional analysis, leading to discrepancies between the numerical results, theoretical analysis and experiments. To rectify this problem, some two-phase turbulence models were proposed by the authors and are applied to simulate dense gas–particle flows in downers, risers, and horizontal channels; Experimental results validate the simulation results. Among these models the USM-Θ and the two-scale USM models are shown to give a better account of both anisotropic particle turbulence and particle–particle collision using the transport equation model for the two-phase velocity correlation.     

Multiphase fluid dynamics and transport processes of low capillary number cavitating flows

To better understand the multiphase fluid dynamics and associated transport processes of cavitating flows at the capillary number of 0.74 and 0.54, and to validate the numerical results, a combined computational and experimental investigation of flows around a hydrofoil is studied based on flow visualizations and time-resolved interface movement. The computational model is based on a modified RNG k-ε model as turbulence closure, along with a vapor-liquid mass transfer model for treating the cavitation process. Overall, favorable agreement between the numerical and experimental results is observed. It is shown that the cavi- tation structure depends on the interaction of the water-vapor mixture and the vapor among the whole cavitation stage, the interface between the vapor and the two-phase mixture exhibits substantial unsteadiness. And, the adverse motion of the interface relates to pressure and velocity fluctuations inside the cavity. In particular, the velocity in the vapor region is lower than that in the two-phase region.     

Modeling air entrainment and transport in a hydraulic jump using two-fluid RANS and DES turbulence models

Both RaNS (Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes) and DES (Detached Eddy Simulation) type turbulence models were used in conjunction with a two-fluid model of bubbly flow and a new subgrid air entrainment model to predict air entrainment and transport in a hydraulic jump. It was found that the void fraction profiles predicted by both methods are in agreement with the experimental data in the lower shear layer region, which contains the air bubbles entrained at the so-called toe of the hydraulic jump. In contrast, in the upper roller region behind the toe, the averaged results of the DES turbulence model gives accurate predictions while a RaNS turbulence model does not. This is because the DES turbulence model successfully captures the strong fluctuations on the free surface which allows it to entrain air near the top of the roller region. In contrast, RaNS type turbulence model results in a steady, smooth interface which fails to capture the wave-induced bubble sources in that region. To our knowledge, this study is the first successful quantitative numerical simulation of the overall void fraction profiles in a hydraulic jump.     

A Priori Assessment of Prediction Confidence for Data-Driven Turbulence Modeling

Although Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations are still the dominant tool for engineering design and analysis applications involving turbulent flows, standard RANS models are known to be unreliable in many flows of engineering relevance, including flows with separation, strong pressure gradients or mean flow curvature. With increasing amounts of 3-dimensional experimental data and high fidelity simulation data from Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), data-driven turbulence modeling has become a promising approach to increase the predictive capability of RANS simulations. However, the prediction performance of data-driven models inevitably depends on the choices of training flows. This work aims to identify a quantitative measure for a priori estimation of prediction confidence in data-driven turbulence modeling. This measure represents the distance in feature space between the training flows and the flow to be predicted. Specifically, the Mahalanobis distance and the kernel density estimation (KDE) technique are used as metrics to quantify the distance between flow data sets in feature space. To examine the relationship between these two extrapolation metrics and the machine learning model prediction performance, the flow over periodic hills at Re = 10595 is used as test set and seven flows with different configurations are individually used as training sets. The results show that the prediction error of the Reynolds stress anisotropy is positively correlated with Mahalanobis distance and KDE distance, demonstrating that both extrapolation metrics can be used to estimate the prediction confidence a priori. A quantitative comparison using correlation coefficients shows that the Mahalanobis distance is less accurate in estimating the prediction confidence than KDE distance. The extrapolation metrics introduced in this work and the corresponding analysis provide an approach to aid in the choice of data source and to assess the prediction performance for data-driven turbulence modeling.     

Conditional Fluid-Particle Accelerations in Turbulence

Simple closures for average fluid-particle accelerations, conditional on fixed local fluid velocity, are considered in isotropic, homogeneous and stationary turbulence using exact probability density transport equations and are compared with direct numerical simulations (DNS). Such accelerations are common ingredients in Lagrangian stochastic models for fluid-particle trajectories in turbulence. One-particle accelerations are essentially trivial, so the focus is on two-particle relative accelerations, which are important in the relative dispersion process. The closure is simply a quadratic form in the velocity variable and this special form also defines the Eulerian velocity probability density function (pdf), and comparisons with DNS (for grids up to 512³) of both the acceleration closure and velocity pdf's are encouraging. Received 2 June 1997 and accepted 29 December 1997     

Second-moment closure for modelling the near-wall turbulence in 3D mean flows

A second-moment closure for the near-wall turbulence is proposed. The limiting behaviour of this closure near a wall is consistent with that of the exact Reynolds-stress transport equations, and it converts asymptotically into a high-Reynolds-number closure remote from the wall. The closure is applied to a pressure-driven 3D transient channel flow. The predicted results are in fair agreement with the DNS data. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Gas-particle two-phase turbulent flow in a vertical duct

Two-phase gas-phase turbulent flows at various loadings between the two vertical parallel plates are analyzed. A thermodynamically consistent turbulent two-phase flow model that accounts for the phase fluctuation energy transport and interaction is used. The governing equation of the gas-phase is upgraded to a two-equation low Reynolds number turbulence closure model that can be integrated directly to the wall. A no-slip boundary condition for the gas-phase and slip-boundary condition for the particulate phase are used. The computational model is first applied to dilute gas-particle turbulent flow between two parallel vertical walls. The predicted mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles are compared with the experimental data of Tsuji et al. (1984) for vertical pipe flows, and good agreement is observed. Examples of additional flow properties such as the phasic fluctuation energy, phasic fluctuation energy production and dissipation, as well as interaction momentum and energy supply terms are also presented and discussed.

Applications to the relatively dense gas-particle turbulent flows in a vertical channel are also studied. The model predictions are compared with the experimental data of Miller & Gidaspow and reasonable agreement is observed. It is shown that flow behavior is strongly affected by the phasic fluctuation energy, and the momentum and energy transfer between the particulate and the fluid constituents.     

Modeling plane turbulent Couette flow

Among the salient features of shear-driven plane Couette flow is the constancy of the total shear stress (viscous and turbulent) across the flow. This constancy gives rise to a quasi-homogenous core region, which makes the bulk of the flow substantially different from pressure-driven Poiseuille flow. The present second-moment closure study addresses the conflicting hypotheses relating to turbulent Couette flow. The inclusion of a new wall-proximity function in the wall-reflection part of the pressure-strain model seems mandatory, and the greement with recent experimental and direct numerical simulation (DNS) results is encouraging. Analysis of model computations in the range 750 ≤ Re ≤ 35,000 and comparisons with low-Re DNS data suggest that plane Couette flow exhibits a local-equilibrium core region, in which anisotropic, homogeneous turbulence prevails. However, the associated variation of the mean velocity in the core, as obtained by the model, conflicts with the intuitively appealing assumption of homogeneous mean shear. The constancy of the velocity gradient exhibited by the DNS therefore signals a deficiency in the modeled transport equation for the energy dissipation rate.