Large Eddy Simulation of Scalar Mixing in a Coaxial Confined Jet

The highly turbulent flow occurring inside gas-turbine combustors requires accurate simulation of scalar mixing if CFD methods are to be used with confidence in design. This has motivated the present paper, which describes the implementation of a passive scalar transport equation into an LES code, including assessment/testing of alternative discretisation schemes to avoid over/undershoots and excessive smoothing. Both second order accurate TVD and higher order accurate DRP schemes are assessed. The best performance is displayed by a DRP method, but this is only true on fine meshes; it produces similar (or larger) errors to a TVD scheme on coarser meshes, and the TVD approach has been retained for LES applications. The unsteady scalar mixing performance of the LES code is validated against published DNS data for a slightly heated channel flow. Excellent agreement between the current LES predictions and DNS data is obtained, for both velocity and scalar statistics. Finally, the developed methodology is applied to scalar transport in a confined co-axial jet mixing flow, for which experimental data are available. Agreement with statistically averaged fields for both velocity and scalar, is demonstrated to be very good, and a considerable improvement over the standard eddy viscosity RANS approach. Illustrations are presented of predicted time-resolved information e.g. time histories, and scalar pdf predictions. The LES results are shown, even using a simple Smagorinsky SGS model, to predict (correctly) lower values of the turbulent Prandtl number in the free shear regions of the flow, compared to higher values in the wall-affected regions. The ability to predict turbulent Prandtl number variations (rather than input these as in combustor RANS CFD models) is an important and promising feature of the LES approach for combustor flow simulation since it is known to be important in determining combustor exit temperature traverse.     

Numerical Simulation of Delft-Jet-in-Hot-Coflow (DJHC) Flames Using the Eddy Dissipation Concept Model for Turbulence–Chemistry Interaction

In this paper, we report results of a numerical investigation of turbulent natural gas combustion for a jet in a coflow of lean combustion products in the Delft-Jet-in-Hot-Coflow (DJHC) burner which emulates MILD (Moderate and Intense Low Oxygen Dilution) combustion behavior. The focus is on assessing the performance of the Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC) model in combination with two-equation turbulence models and chemical kinetic schemes for about 20 species (Correa mechanism and DRM19 mechanism) by comparing predictions with experimental measurements. We study two different flame conditions corresponding to two different oxygen levels (7.6% and 10.9% by mass) in the hot coflow, and for two jet Reynolds number (Re = 4,100 and Re = 8,800). The mean velocity and turbulent kinetic energy predicted by different turbulence models are in good agreement with data without exhibiting large differences among the model predictions. The realizable k-ε model exhibits better performance in the prediction of entrainment. The EDC combustion model predicts too early ignition leading to a peak in the radial mean temperature profile at too low axial distance. However the model correctly predicts the experimentally observed decreasing trend of lift-off height with jet Reynolds number. A detailed analysis of the mean reaction rate of the EDC model is made and as possible cause for the deviations between model predictions and experiments a low turbulent Reynolds number effect is identified. Using modified EDC model constants prediction of too early ignition can be avoided. The results are weakly sensitive to the sub-model for laminar viscosity and laminar diffusion fluxes.     

Optimization of turbulent jet mixing

We introduce an approach for controlling jet mixing that combines direct numerical simulation of an incompressible jet flow with stochastic optimization procedures. The jet is excited with helical and combined helical and axial actuations at the orifice. An objective function that measures the spreading of the jet evaluates the performance of the actuation parameters. The optimization procedure searches for the best actuation by automatically varying the parameters and calculating their objective function value. Solutions that lead to a pronounced spreading of the jet are found within reasonable time, although the evaluation of the objective function, the DNS of the jet, is expensive. For a jet flow at low Reynolds number the performance of different search algorithms (simulated annealing and evolution strategies) is evaluated. We compare various objective functions based on radial velocity and the concentration of a passive scalar, including functions that penalize actuation with high amplitudes. We find that a combined axial and helical actuation is much more efficient with respect to jet mixing than a helical actuation alone.     

The effect of inflow conditions on the transition to turbulence in large eddy simulations of spatially developing mixing layers

Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of spatially developing turbulent mixing layers have been performed for flows of uniform density and Reynolds numbers of up to 50,000 based on the visual thickness of the layer and the velocity difference across it. On a fine LES grid, a validation simulation performed with a hyperbolic tangent inflow profile produces flow statistics that compare extremely well with reference Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) data. An inflow profile derived from laminar Blasius profiles produces a flow that is significantly different to the reference DNS, particularly with respect to the initial development of the flow. When compared with experimental data, however, it is the boundary layer-type inflow simulation produces the better prediction of the flow statistics, including the mean transition location. It is found that the boundary layer inflow condition is more unstable than the hyperbolic tangent inlet profile. A suitably designed coarse LES grid produces good predictions of the mean transition location with boundary layer inflow conditions at a low computational cost. The results suggest that hyperbolic tangent functions may produce unreliable DNS data when used as the initial condition for studies of the transition in the mixing layer flow.     

Assessment of stretched vortex subgrid‐scale models for LES of incompressible inhomogeneous turbulent flow

The physical space version of the stretched vortex subgrid scale model is tested in LES of the turbulent lid‐driven cubic cavity flow. LES is carried out by using a higher order finite‐difference method. The effects of different vortex orientation models and subgrid turbulence spectrums are assessed through comparisons of the LES predictions against DNS. Three Reynolds numbers 12000, 18000, and 22000 are studied. Good agreement with the DNS data for the mean and fluctuating quantities is observed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hybrid RANS/LES of flow and heat transfer in round impinging jets

Fluid flow and convective heat transfer predictions are presented of round impinging jets for several combinations of nozzle-plate distances H/D = 2, 6 and 13.5 (where D is the nozzle diameter) and Reynolds numbers Re = 5000, 23,000 and 70,000 with the newest version of the k-ω model of Wilcox (2008) and three hybrid RANS/LES models. In the RANS mode of the hybrid RANS/LES models, the k-ω model is recovered. Three formulations are considered to activate the LES mode. The first model is similar to the hybrid models of Davidson and Peng (2003) and Kok et al. (2004). The turbulent length scale is replaced by the grid size in the destruction term of the k-equation and in the definition of the RANS eddy viscosity. As grid size, a maximum measure of the hexahedral grid cell is used. The second model has the same k-equation, but the eddy viscosity is the minimum of the k-ω eddy viscosity and the Smagorinsky eddy viscosity, following a proposal by Batten et al. (2004). The Smagorinsky eddy viscosity is formed with the cube root of the cell volume. The third model has, again, the same k-equation, but has an eddy viscosity which is an intermediate between the eddy viscosities of the first and second models. This is reached by using the cube root of the cell volume in the eddy viscosity formula of the first model.The simulation results are compared with experimental data for the high Reynolds number cases Re = 23,000 and Re = 70,000 and LES data for the low-Reynolds number case Re = 5000. The Reynolds numbers are defined with the nozzle diameter and the bulk velocity at nozzle outlet. At low nozzle-plate distance (the impingement plate is in the core of the jet), turbulent kinetic energy is overpredicted by RANS in the stagnation flow region. This leads to overprediction of the heat transfer rate along the impingement plate in the impact zone. At high nozzle-plate distance (the impingement plate is in the mixed-out region of the jet), the turbulence mixing is underpredicted by RANS in the shear layer of the jet which gives a too high length of the jet core. This also results in overprediction of the heat transfer rate in the impingement zone caused by too big temperature gradients at impingement.All hybrid RANS/LES models are able to correct the heat transfer overprediction of the RANS model. For good predictions at low nozzle-plate distance, it is necessary to sufficiently resolve the formation and development of the near-wall vortices in the jet impingement region. At high nozzle-plate distance, the essence is to capture the evolution and breakup of the flow unsteadiness in the shear layer of the jet, so that accurate mean and fluctuating velocity profiles are obtained in the impingement region. Although the models have a quite different theoretical justification and generate a quite different eddy viscosity in some flow regions, their overall results are very comparable. The reason is that in zones that are crucial for the results, the models behave similarly.     

Single-shot laser Mie scattering measurements of the scalar profiles in the near field of turbulent jets with variable densities

A single-shot laser Mie scattering technique is used to measure the instantaneous radial distributions of seed particles in the early development zone of turbulent jets with various bulk densities issuing into a slow coflowing air stream. Instantaneous radial profiles of mixture fraction are derived from the measured distributions with either the jet fluid or only the coflow air seeded, depending on the investigated zone. Radial gradients and autocorrelation profiles are analyzed to study the scalar dissipation and the mixing length scale respectively. Self-similar behaviour is investigated by plotting the centreline scalar decay as a function of a reduced abscissa, which accounts for the axial variation of the jet density in its early development. As the density is simultaneously derivable from the mixture fraction data, direct comparisons between Favre and Reynolds averaged values are obtained which show very significant differences in the near field.     

Characteristics of fluorescein dye and temperature fluctuations in a turbulent near-wake

 The Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique was used to determine a few characteristics of a high Schmidt number (Sc) passive scalar (fluorescein) in the near-wake of a circular cylinder. The mean and rms concentration indicate that increasing the Reynolds number (Re) improves the large-scale mixing and accelerates the homogenisation of the scalar. As Re increases, the intensity of segregation decreases because of turbulent diffusion but the scale of segregation increases due to dispersion. Comparison between concentration and temperature rms profiles indicates that molecular diffusion has a much smaller effect on the decay of the scalar variance than the Reynolds number. The ratio of mean-squared values of lateral and streamwise spatial derivatives of the scalar fluctuation deviates from isotropy, the departure increasing with Re. This reflects more the effect of dispersion by the turbulent velocity field rather than any molecular diffusion effect. At a given Re, the ratio decreases as the distance from the cylinder increases. This trend is more accentuated near the edge of the wake than at the centreline. Received: 16 March 1999/Accepted: 10 June 1999     

Validation of a novel very large eddy simulation method for simulation of turbulent separated flow

The paper describes the validation of a newly developed very LES (VLES) method for the simulation of turbulent separated flow. The new VLES method is a unified simulation approach that can change seamlessly from Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes to DNS depending on the numerical resolution. Four complex test cases are selected to validate the performance of the new method, that is, the flow past a square cylinder at Re = 3000 confined in a channel (with a blockage ratio of 20%), the turbulent flow over a circular cylinder at Re = 3900 as well as Re = 140,000, and a turbulent backward‐facing step flow with a thick incoming boundary layer at Re = 40,000. The simulation results are compared with available experimental, LES, and detached eddy simulation‐type results. The new VLES model performs well overall, and the predictions are satisfactory compared with previous experimental and numerical results. It is observed that the new VLES method is quite efficient for the turbulent flow simulations; that is, good predictions can be obtained using a quite coarse mesh compared with the previous LES method. Discussions of the implementation of the present VLES modeling are also conducted on the basis of the simulations of turbulent channel flow up to high Reynolds number of Re_τ = 4000. The efficiency of the present VLES modeling is also observed in the channel flow simulation. From a practical point of view, this new method has considerable potential for more complex turbulent flow simulations at relative high Reynolds numbers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vortex-In-Cell and Probability Density Function Approach for a Passive Scalar Field in a Mixing Layer

A Reynolds-averaged simulation based on the vortex-in-cell (VIC) and the transport equation for the probability density function (PDF) of a scalar has been developed to predict the passive scalar field in a two-dimensional spatially growing mixing layer. The VIC computes the instantaneous velocity and vorticity fields. Then the mean-flow properties, i.e. the mean velocity, the root-mean-square (rms) longitudinal and lateral velocity fluctuations, the Reynolds shear stress, and the rms vorticity fluctuations are computed and used as input to the PDF equation. The PDF transport equation is solved using the Monte Carlo technique. The convection term uses the mean velocities from the VIC. The turbulent diffusion term is modeled using the gradient transport model, in which the eddy diffusivity, computed via the Boussinesq's postulate, uses the Reynolds shear stress and gradients of mean velocities from the VIC. The molecular mixing term is closed by the modified Curl model.

The computational results were compared with two-dimensional experimental results for passive scalar. The predicted turbulent flow characteristics, i.e. mean velocity and rms longitudinal fluctuations in the self-preserving region, show good agreement with the experimental measurements. The profiles of the mean scalar and the rms scalar fluctuations are also in reasonable agreement with the experimental measurements. Comparison between the mean scalar and the mean velocity profiles shows that the scalar mixing region extends further into the free stream than does the momentum mixing region, indicating enhanced transport of scalar over momentum. The rms scalar profiles exhibit an asymmetry relative to the concentration centerline, and indicate that the fluid on the high-speed side mixes at a faster rate than the fluid on the low-speed side. The asymmetry is due to the asymmetry in the mixing frequency cross-stream profiles. Also, the PDFs have peaks biased toward the high-speed side.     

A reformulated synthetic turbulence generation method for a zonal RANS–LES method and its application to zero-pressure gradient boundary layers

A synthetic turbulence generation (STG) method for subsonic and supersonic flows at low and moderate Reynolds numbers to provide inflow distributions of zonal Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) – large-eddy simulation (LES) methods is presented. The STG method splits the LES inflow region into three planes where a local velocity signal is decomposed from the turbulent flow properties of the upstream RANS solution. Based on the wall-normal position and the local flow Reynolds number, specific length and velocity scales with different vorticity content are imposed at the inlet plane of the boundary layer. The quality of the STG method for incompressible and compressible zero-pressure gradient boundary layers is shown by comparing the zonal RANS–LES data with pure LES, pure RANS, and direct numerical simulation (DNS) solutions. The distributions of the time and spanwise wall-shear stress, Reynolds stress distributions, and two point correlations of the zonal RANS–LES simulations are smooth in the transition region and in good agreement with the pure LES and reference DNS findings. The STG approach reduces the RANS-to-LES transition length to less than four boundary-layer thicknesses.     

LES-based filter-matrix lattice Boltzmann model for simulating fully developed turbulent channel flow

In this paper, a three-dimensional filter-matrix lattice Boltzmann (FMLB) model based on large eddy simulation (LES) was verified for simulating wall-bounded turbulent flows. The Vreman subgrid-scale model was employed in the present FMLB–LES framework, which had been proved to be capable of predicting turbulent near-wall region accurately. The fully developed turbulent channel flows were performed at a friction Reynolds number Re_τ of 180. The turbulence statistics computed from the present FMLB–LES simulations, including mean stream velocity profile, Reynolds stress profile and root-mean-square velocity fluctuations greed well with the LES results of multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) LB model, and some discrepancies in comparison with those direct numerical simulation (DNS) data of Kim et al. was also observed due to the relatively low grid resolution. Moreover, to investigate the influence of grid resolution on the present LES simulation, a DNS simulation on a finer gird was also implemented by present FMLB–D3Q19 model. Comparisons of detailed computed various turbulence statistics with available benchmark data of DNS showed quite well agreement.     

Mixing in Isotropic Turbulence with Scalar Injection and Applications to Subgrid Modeling

A new technique for injecting scalar fluctuations in a DNS of isotropic turbulence is presented. It is used to study statistically steady states associated with different levels of mixing. The results are analysed in terms of spectra and PDF, and they are used as a database to investigate the effect of the filtering operation that is performed in LES. It is shown that the PDF of the scalar is substantially affected by the filtering operation. It is also shown that the Cook and Riley [1] subgrid model allows reconstruction of a PDF which is in fairly good agreement with the unfiltered DNS results. The consequences of estimating the scalar subgrid variance by scale similarity assumptions are investigated. It is found that the results are improved by a local determination of the model constant. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Wall Heat Flux and Thermal Stratification Investigations during the Compression Stroke of an engine-like Geometry: A comparison between LES and DNS

The near wall regions in internal combustion engines contain a significant amount of the gaseous mass in the cylinder and thus have a high relevance for the amount of unburned hydrocarbons, the wall heat transfer and the thermal stratification in the cylinder. In this context in the following study the predictive capability of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with respect to wall heat flux and thermal stratification during the compression stroke i.e. under non-reactive conditions in an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) are investigated based on a comparison with Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). Two different modeling approaches for the near wall region, the low Reynolds damping approach and the LES adapted model from Plengsaard and Rutland, have been tested. During the first half of the compression stroke the low Reynolds damping approach agreed well with the DNS data, but increasing deviations were observed after 270° CA (piston halfway up). The underprediction of the wall heat flux at later stages was found to stem from the underestimation of the y ₊ values of the first cell centroid, compared to values obtained by evaluating the DNS data at the same location, and originates from the model used to determine the friction velocity. As a consequence of the underpredicted y ₊ value, the cell is not located in the viscous sublayer as expected, and the temperature gradient which is needed for the heat flux calculation is underpredicted. The results of the LES wall heat transfer model from Plengsaard and Rutland on the other hand showed overall reasonable agreement with the DNS data, but the model strongly depended on the modeling constants. With respect to the increasing thermal stratification during the compression both methods were found to significantly under predict the DNS results. These findings are especially relevant for LES of auto ignition phenomena in engines, since ignition timing and location are known to strongly depend on the temperature distribution.     

Large eddy simulation of gas-particle turbulent channel flow with momentum exchange between the phases

This paper presents results of a large eddy simulation (LES) combined with Lagrangian particle tracking and a point-force approximation for the feedback effect of particles on the downward turbulent gaseous flow in a vertical channel. The LES predictions are compared with the results obtained by direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a finer computational mesh. A parametric study is conducted for particles with two response times in simulations with and without streamwise gravitational settling and elastic, binary interparticle collisions. It is shown that the classical and the dynamic Smagorinsky turbulence models adequately predict the particle-induced changes in the mean streamwise velocity and the Reynolds stresses of the carrier phase for the range of parameters studied. However, the largest discrepancies between the LES and DNS results are found in the cases of particle-laden flows. Conditional sampling of the instantaneous resolved flow fields indicates that the mechanisms by which particles directly oppose the production of momentum and vorticity of the organized fluid motions are also observed in the LES results. However, the geometric features of the near-wall quasistreamwise vortices are overestimated by the use of both turbulence models compared to the DNS predictions.     

LES of Premixed Methane Flame Impinging on the Wall Using Non-adiabatic Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) Approach

In this paper LES of flame wall interaction using a non-adiabatic FGM approach is reported for a premixed methane fuel jet impinging on a spherical disk. Nitrogen is used as co-flow in order to avoid the interaction with the surrounding air and combustion. The flow field is described by means of the Smagorinsky model with Germano procedure for SGS stresses. The SGS scalar flux in scalar transport equations is modeled by the linear eddy diffusivity model. Two aspects are especially addressed in this paper. First focus is on the grid resolution required near the wall without including a special wall-adapted SGS modeling in reacting configurations. The second aspect is devoted to the integration of the near wall kinetic effects into the FGM framework. The results for the flow field, mixing and combustion properties are presented and analyzed in terms of grid resolution, Reynolds number (in reacting and non-reacting case) and adiabaticity. Comparisons with available experimental data show satisfactory agreement. An outline of the thermal and flow boundary layer analysis is subsequently provided.     

Experimental and Numerical Study of the Scalar Turbulent/Non-Turbulent Interface Layer in a Jet Flow

Based on two large-eddy simulations (LES) of a non-reacting turbulent round jet with a nozzle based Reynolds number of 8,610 with the same configuration as the one that has recently been investigated experimentally (Gampert et al., 2012; J Fluid Mech, 2012; J Fluid Mech 724:337, 2013), we examine the scalar turbulent/non-turbulent (T/NT) interface layer in the mixture fraction field of the jet flow between ten and thirty nozzle diameters downstream. To this end, the LES—one with a coarse grid and one with a fine grid—are in a first step validated against the experimental data using the axial decay of the mean velocity and the mean mixture fraction as well as based on radial self-similar profiles of mean and root mean square values of these two quantities. Then, probability density functions (pdf) of the mixture fraction at various axial and radial positions are compared and the quality of the LES is discussed. In general, the LES results are consistent with the experimental data. However, in the flow region where the imprint of the T/NT interface layer is dominant in the mixture fraction pdf, discrepancies are observed. In a next step, statistics of the T/NT interface layer are studied, where a satisfactory agreement for the pdf of the location of the interface layer from the higher resolved LES with the experimental data is observed, while the one with the coarse grid exhibits considerable deviations. Finally, the mixture fraction profile across the interface is investigated where the same trend as for the pdf of the location is present. In particular, it is found that the sharp interface that is present in experimental studies (Gampert et al., J Fluid Mech, 2013; Westerweel et al., J Fluid Mech 631:199, 2009) is less distinct in the LES results and rather diffused in radial direction outside of the T/NT interface layer.     

Modelling of thermal wall boundary conditions with temperature-dependent material properties for use in RANS

The present work extends a recently proposed P-function based model for describing the near-wall variation of temperature in forced convective turbulent flow to the case with temperature-dependent material properties. The extension essentially modifies the model formulations for describing the local variation of the turbulent mixing length and the turbulent Prandtl number. Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and experimental measurements are carried to provide comprehensive validation data for a wide range of Reynolds numbers, considering molecular Prandtl numbers well beyond unity. The observed good agreement of the predictions with the DNS data and experiments proves the present extended model as a well-suited approach for prescribing reliable thermal boundary conditions in Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations, assuming temperature-dependent material properties.     

Evaluations of SGS Combustion,Scalar Flux and Stress Models in a Turbulent Jet Premixed Flame

A newly developed fractal dynamic SGS (FDSGS) combustion model and a scale self-recognition mixed (SSRM) SGS stress model are evaluated along with other SGS combustion, scalar flux and stress models in a priori and a posteriori manners using DNS data of a hydrogen-air turbulent plane jet premixed flame. A posteriori tests reveal that the LES using the FDSGS combustion model can predict the combustion field well in terms of mean temperature distributions and peak positions in the transverse distributions of filtered reaction progress variable fluctuations. A priori and a posteriori tests of the scalar flux models show that a model proposed by Clark et al. accurately predicts the counter-gradient transport as well as the gradient diffusion, and introduction of the model of Clark et al. into the LES yields slightly better predictions of the filtered progress variable fluctuations than that of a gradient diffusion model. Evaluations of the stress models reveal that the LES with the SSRM model predicts the velocity fluctuations well compared to that with the Smagorinsky model.