A two‐scale low‐Reynolds number turbulence model

In this study, a two‐scale low‐Reynolds number turbulence model is proposed. The Kolmogorov turbulence time scale, based on fluid kinematic viscosity and the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (ν, ε), is adopted to address the viscous effects and the rapid increasing of dissipation rate in the near‐wall region. As a wall is approached, the turbulence time scale transits smoothly from a turbulent kinetic energy based (k, ε) scale to a (ν, ε) scale. The damping functions of the low‐Reynolds number models can thus be simplified and the near‐wall turbulence characteristics, such as the ε distribution, are correctly reproduced. The proposed two‐scale low‐Reynolds number turbulence model is first examined in detail by predicting a two‐dimensional channel flow, and then it is applied to predict a backward‐facing step flow. Numerical results are compared with the direct numerical simulation (DNS) budgets, experimental data and the model results of Chien, and Lam and Bremhorst respectively. It is proved that the proposed two‐scale model indeed improves the predictions of the turbulent flows considered. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of Reynolds number on boundary layer turbulence

A new facility for studying high Reynolds number incompressible turbulent boundary layer flows has been constructed. It consists of a moderately sized wind tunnel, completely enclosed by a pressure vessel, which can raise the ambient air pressure in and around the wind tunnel to 8 atmospheres. This results in a Reynolds number range of about 20:1, while maintaining incompressible flow. Results are presented for the zero pressure gradient flat plate boundary layer over a momentum thickness Reynolds number range 1500–15?000. Scaling issues for high Reynolds number non-equilibrium boundary layers are discussed, with data comparing the three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer flow over a swept bump at Reynolds numbers of 3800 and 8600. It is found that successful prediction of these types of flows must include length scales which do not scale on Reynolds number, but are inherent to the geometry of the flow.     

Finite element implementation of two‐equation and algebraic stress turbulence models for steady incompressible flows

The main purpose of this paper is to describe a finite element formulation for solving the equations for k and ε of the classical k–ε turbulence model, or any other two‐equation model. The finite element discretization is based on the SUPG method together with a discontinuity capturing technique to deal with sharp internal and boundary layers. The iterative strategy consists of several nested loops, the outermost being the linearization of the Navier–Stokes equations. The basic k–ε model is used for the implementation of an algebraic stress model that is able to account for the effects of rotation. Some numerical examples are presented in order to show the performance of the proposed scheme for simulating directly steady flows, without the need of reaching the steady state through a transient evolution. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A local‐analytic‐based discretization procedure for the numerical solution of incompressible flows

An Erratum has been published for this article in International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 2005, 49(8): 933. We present a local‐analytic‐based discretization procedure for the numerical solution of viscous fluid flows governed by the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The general procedure consists of building local interpolants obtained from local analytic solutions of the linear multi‐dimensional advection–diffusion equation, prototypical of the linearized momentum equations. In view of the local analytic behaviour, the resulting computational stencil and coefficient values are functions of the local flow conditions. The velocity–pressure coupling is achieved by a discrete projection method. Numerical examples in the form of well‐established verification and validation benchmarks are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the formulation. The discretization procedure is implemented alongside the ability to treat embedded and non‐matching grids with relative motion. Of interest are flows at high Reynolds number, ??(10⁵)–??(10⁷), for which the formulation is found to be robust. Applications include flow past a circular cylinder undergoing vortex‐induced vibrations (VIV) at high Reynolds number. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of one‐ and two‐equation low‐Re turbulence models. Part I—Axisymmetric separating and swirling flows

This first segment of the two‐part paper systematically examines several turbulence models in the context of three flows, namely a simple flat‐plate turbulent boundary layer, an axisymmetric separating flow, and a swirling flow. The test cases are chosen on the basis of availability of high‐quality and detailed experimental data. The tested turbulence models are integrated to solid surfaces and consist of: Rodi's two‐layer k–ε model, Chien's low‐Reynolds number k–ε model, Wilcox's k–ω model, Menter's two‐equation shear‐stress‐transport model, and the one‐equation model of Spalart and Allmaras. The objective of the study is to establish the prediction accuracy of these turbulence models with respect to axisymmetric separating flows, and flows of high streamline curvature. At the same time, the study establishes the minimum spatial resolution requirements for each of these turbulence closures, and identifies the proper low‐Mach‐number preconditioning and artificial diffusion settings of a Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes algorithm for optimum rate of convergence and minimum adverse impact on prediction accuracy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of magnetic Reynolds number on the two‐dimensional hydromagnetic flow around a cylinder

Numerical experiments have been conducted to study the effect of magnetic Reynolds number on the steady, two‐dimensional, viscous, incompressible and electrically conducting flow around a circular cylinder. Besides usual Reynolds number Re, the flow is governed by the magnetic Reynolds number R_m and Alfvén number β. The flow and magnetic field are uniform and parallel at large distances from the cylinder. The pressure Poisson equation is solved to find the pressure fields in the entire flow region. The effects of the magnetic field and electrical conductivity on the recirculation bubble, drag coefficient, standing vortex and pressure are presented and discussed. For low interaction parameter (N<1), the suppression of the flow‐separation is nearly independent of the conductivity of the fluid, whereas for large interaction parameters, the conductivity of the fluid strongly influences the control of flow‐separation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of ghost-cell based cut-cell method for large-eddy simulations of compressible flows at high Reynolds number

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of high Reynolds number flows are performed using a non-body conformal method in conjunction with a wall model. We use a simple wall function to model the wall-shear stress and the truncation error of the numerical discretization to model the sub-grid scale turbulence (implicit LES), although these can be easily replaced if necessary. The validation cases are: turbulent flow through an inclined channel, turbulent flow over a wavy surface, and supersonic flow over a circular cylinder. Since the near-wall grids are naturally coarse, the key is to use a method that is capable of capturing the flow dynamics accurately in the vicinity of the interface. Towards the purpose, we develop a Cartesian cut-cell method, referred to as the ghost-cell based cut-cell method (GC-CCM), in the context of fully compressible solutions of Navier–Stokes equations. This method employs ghost-cells inside the solid interface such that the local spatial reconstruction remains consistent everywhere including in the vicinity of the boundary. In order to capture the near-wall flow behavior more accurately with coarse grids, this method decomposes cell faces of merged cells and computes fluxes through each decomposed segment separately. The objective of this work is to qualify whether the proposed method can accurately represent the high Reynolds number flows in the vicinity of immersed interfaces. To analyze the performance of the proposed method, we compare the results to the corresponding numerical results from the two other non-body conformal methods, namely the ghost-cell based immersed boundary method (GCIBM) and standard cut-cell method (S-CCM), that are implemented in the same numerical solver. The comparison demonstrates that the proposed method is capable of capturing near-wall flows relatively accurately with coarse grids.     

On coupling the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations with two‐equation turbulence model equations

Two methods for coupling the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the q–ω turbulence model equations on structured grid systems have been studied; namely a loosely coupled method and a strongly coupled method. The loosely coupled method first solves the Navier–Stokes equations with the turbulent viscosity fixed. In a subsequent step, the turbulence model equations are solved with all flow quantities fixed. On the other hand, the strongly coupled method solves the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the turbulence model equations simultaneously. In this paper, numerical stabilities of both methods in conjunction with the approximated factorization‐alternative direction implicit method are analysed. The effect of the turbulent kinetic energy terms in the governing equations on the convergence characteristics is also studied. The performance of the two methods is compared for several two‐ and three‐dimensional problems. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel implicit numerical treatment for non‐linear turbulence models using high and low Reynolds number formulations

Non‐linear turbulence models can be seen as an improvement of the classical eddy‐viscosity concept due to their better capacity to simulate characteristics of important flows. However, application of non‐linear models demand robustness of the numerical method applied, requiring a stable discretization scheme for convergence of all variables involved. Usually, non‐linear terms are handled in an explicit manner leading to possible numerical instabilities. Thus, the present work shows the steps taken to adapt a general non‐linear constitutive equation using a new semi‐implicit numerical treatment for the non‐linear diffusion terms. The objective is to increase the degree of implicitness of the solution algorithm to enhance convergence characteristics. Flow over a backward‐facing step was computed using the control volume method applied to a boundary‐fitted coordinate system. The SIMPLE algorithm was used to relax the algebraic equations. Classical wall function and a low Reynolds number model were employed to describe the flow near the wall. The results showed that for certain combination of relaxation parameters, the semi‐implicit treatment proposed here was the sole successful treatment in order to achieve solution convergence. Also, application of the implicit method described here shows that the stability of the solution either increases (high Reynolds with non‐orthogonal mesh) or preserves the same (low Reynolds number applications). Additional advantages of the procedure proposed here lie in the possibility of testing different non‐linear expressions if one considers the enhanced robustness and stability obtained for the entire numerical algorithm. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A low Reynolds number variant of partially-averaged Navier-Stokes model for turbulence

A low Reynolds number (LRN) formulation based on the Partially Averaged Navier-Stokes (PANS) modelling method is presented, which incorporates improved asymptotic representation in near-wall turbulence modelling. The effect of near-wall viscous damping can thus be better accounted for in simulations of wall-bounded turbulent flows. The proposed LRN PANS model uses an LRN k-ε model as the base model and introduces directly its model functions into the PANS formulation. As a result, the inappropriate wall-limiting behavior inherent in the original PANS model is corrected. An interesting feature of the PANS model is that the turbulent Prandtl numbers in the k and ε equations are modified compared to the base model. It is found that this modification has a significant effect on the modelled turbulence. The proposed LRN PANS model is scrutinized in computations of decaying grid turbulence, turbulent channel flow and periodic hill flow, of which the latter has been computed at two different Reynolds numbers of Re = 10,600 and 37,000. In comparison with available DNS, LES or experimental data, the LRN PANS model produces improved predictions over the standard PANS model, particularly in the near-wall region and for resolved turbulence statistics. Furthermore, the LRN PANS model gives similar or better results - at a reduced CPU time - as compared to the Dynamic Smagorinsky model.     

Reynolds stress modelling of rectangular open‐channel flow

A Reynolds stress model for the numerical simulation of uniform 3D turbulent open‐channel flows is described. The finite volume method is used for the numerical solution of the flow equations and transport equations of the Reynolds stress components. The overall solution strategy is the SIMPLER algorithm, and the power‐law scheme is used to discretize the convection and diffusion terms in the governing equations. The developed model is applied to a flow at a Reynolds number of 77000 in a rectangular channel with a width to depth ratio of 2. The simulated mean flow and turbulence structures are compared with measured and computed data from the literature. The computed flow vectors in the plane normal to the streamwise direction show a small vortex, called inner secondary currents, located at the juncture of the sidewall and the free surface as well as the free surface and bottom vortices. This small vortex causes a significant increase in the wall shear stress in the vicinity of the free surface. A budget analysis of the streamwise vorticity is carried out. It is found that both production terms by anisotropy of Reynolds normal stress and by Reynolds shear stress contribute to the generation of secondary currents. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of temporal and spatial high‐order schemes for two‐fluid seven‐equation two‐pressure model and its applications in two‐phase flow benchmark problems

Current existing main nuclear thermal‐hydraulics (T‐H) system analysis codes, such as RALAP5, TRACE, and CATHARE, play a crucial role in the nuclear engineering field for the design and safety analysis of nuclear reactor systems. However, two‐fluid model used in these T‐H system analysis codes is ill posed, easily leading to numerical oscillations, and the classical first‐order methods for temporal and special discretization are widely employed for numerical simulations, yielding excessive numerical diffusion. Two‐fluid seven‐equation two‐pressure model is of particular interest due to the inherent well‐posed advantage. Moreover, high‐order accuracy schemes have also attracted great attention to overcome the challenge of serious numerical diffusion induced by low‐order time and space schemes for accurately simulating nuclear T‐H problems. In this paper, the semi‐implicit solution algorithm with high‐order accuracy in space and time is developed for this well‐posed two‐fluid model and the robustness and accuracy are verified and assessed against several important two‐phase flow benchmark tests in the nuclear engineering T‐H field, which include two linear advection problems, the oscillation problem of the liquid column, the Ransom water faucet problem, the reversed water faucet problem, and the two‐phase shock tube problem. The following conclusions are achieved. (1) The proposed semi‐implicit solution algorithm is robust in solving two‐phase flows, even for fast transients and discontinuous solutions. (2) High‐order schemes in both time and space could prevent excessive numerical diffusion effectively and the numerical simulation results are more accurate than those of first‐order time and space schemes, which demonstrates the advantage of using high‐order schemes.     

Surface‐sampled simulations of turbulent flow at high Reynolds number

A new approach to turbulence simulation, based on a combination of large eddy simulation (LES) for the whole flow and an array of non–space‐filling quasi‐direct numerical simulations (QDNS), which sample the response of near‐wall turbulence to large‐scale forcing, is proposed and evaluated. The technique overcomes some of the cost limitations of turbulence simulation, since the main flow is treated with a coarse‐grid LES, with the equivalent of wall functions supplied by the near‐wall sampled QDNS. Two cases are tested, at friction Reynolds number Re_τ=4200 and 20000. The total grid point count for the first case is less than half a million and less than 2 million for the second case, with the calculations only requiring a desktop computer. A good agreement with published direct numerical simulation (DNS) is found at Re_τ=4200, both in the mean velocity profile and the streamwise velocity fluctuation statistics, which correctly show a substantial increase in near‐wall turbulence levels due to a modulation of near‐wall streaks by large‐scale structures. The trend continues at Re_τ=20000, in agreement with experiment, which represents one of the major achievements of the new approach. A number of detailed aspects of the model, including numerical resolution, LES‐QDNS coupling strategy and subgrid model are explored. A low level of grid sensitivity is demonstrated for both the QDNS and LES aspects. Since the method does not assume a law of the wall, it can in principle be applied to flows that are out of equilibrium.     

Implicit meanflow–multigrid algorithms for Reynolds stress model computation of 3‐D anisotropy‐driven and compressible flows

The present paper investigates the multigrid (MG) acceleration of compressible Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes computations using Reynolds‐stress model 7‐equation turbulence closures, as well as lower‐level 2‐equation models. The basic single‐grid SG algorithm combines upwind‐biased discretization with a subiterative local‐dual‐time‐stepping time‐integration procedure. MG acceleration, using characteristic MG restriction and prolongation operators, is applied on meanflow variables only (MF–MG), turbulence variables being simply injected onto coarser grids. A previously developed non‐time‐consistent (for steady flows) full‐approximation‐multigrid (s–MG) is assessed for 3‐D anisotropy‐driven and/or separated flows, which are dominated by the convergence of turbulence variables. Even for these difficult test cases CPU‐speed‐ups r_CPUSUP∈[3, 5] are obtained. Alternative, potentially time‐consistent approaches (unsteady u–MG), where MG acceleration is applied at each subiteration, are also examined, using different subiterative strategies, MG cycles, and turbulence models. For 2‐D shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction, the fastest s–MG approach, with a V(2, 0) sawtooth cycle, systematically yields CPU‐speed‐ups of 5±½, quasi‐independent of the particular turbulence closure used. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of a meshless solver for high Reynolds number flow

In this paper, the extension of an upwind least‐square based meshless solver to high Reynolds number flow is explored, and the properties of the meshless solver are analyzed both theoretically and numerically. Existing works have verified the meshless solver mostly with inviscid flows and low Reynolds number flows, and in this work, we are interested in the behavior of the meshless solver for high Reynolds number flow, especially in the near‐wall region. With both theoretical and numerical analysis, the effects of two parameters on the meshless solver are identified. The first one is the misalignment effect caused by the significantly skewed supporting points, and it is found that the meshless solver still yields accurate prediction. It is a very interesting property and is opposite to the median‐dual control volume based vertex‐centered finite volume method, which is known to give degraded result with stretched triangular/tetrahedral cells in the near‐wall region. The second parameter is the curvature, and according to theoretical analysis, it is found in the region with both large aspect ratio and curvature, and the streamwise residual is less affected; however, the wall‐normal counterpart suffers from accuracy degradation. In this paper, an improved method that uses a meshless solver for the streamwise residual and finite difference for wall‐normal residual is developed. This method is proved to be less sensitive to the curvature and provides improved accuracy. This work presents an understanding of the meshless solver for high Reynolds number flow computation, and the analysis in this paper is verified with a series of numerical experiments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preconditioned Krylov subspace methods used in solving two‐dimensional transient two‐phase flows

This paper investigates the performance of preconditioned Krylov subspace methods used in a previously presented two‐fluid model developed for the simulation of separated and intermittent gas–liquid flows. The two‐fluid model has momentum and mass balances for each phase. The equations comprising this model are solved numerically by applying a two‐step semi‐implicit time integration procedure. A finite difference numerical scheme with a staggered mesh is used. Previously, the resulting linear algebraic equations were solved by a Gaussian band solver. In this study, these algebraic equations are also solved using the generalized minimum residual (GMRES) and the biconjugate gradient stabilized (Bi‐CGSTAB) Krylov subspace iterative methods preconditioned with incomplete LU factorization using the ILUT(p, τ) algorithm. The decrease in the computational time using the iterative solvers instead of the Gaussian band solver is shown to be considerable. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Retracted and replaced: A flow‐condition‐based interpolation finite element procedure for triangular grids

A flow‐condition‐based interpolation finite element scheme is presented for use of triangular grids in the solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The method provides spatially isotropic discretizations for low and high Reynolds number flows. Various example solutions are given to illustrate the capabilities of the procedure. This article and been retracted and replaced. See retraction and replacement notice DOI: 10.1002/fld.1247 . Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.