Experimental and LES investigation of premixed methane/air flame propagating in a tube with a thin obstacle

In this paper, an experimental and numerical investigation of premixed methane/air flame dynamics in a closed combustion vessel with a thin obstacle is described. In the experiment, high-speed video photography and a pressure transducer are used to study the flame shape changes and pressure dynamics. In the numerical simulation, four sub-grid scale viscosity models and three sub-grid scale combustion models are evaluated for their individual prediction compared with the experimental data. High-speed photographs show that the flame propagation process can be divided into five stages: spherical flame, finger-shaped flame, jet flame, mushroom-shaped flame and bidirectional propagation flame. Compared with the other sub-grid scale viscosity models and sub-grid scale combustion models, the dynamic Smagorinsky–Lilly model and the power-law flame wrinkling model are better able to predict the flame behaviour, respectively. Thus, coupling the dynamic Smagorinsky–Lilly model and the power-law flame wrinkling model, the numerical results demonstrate that flame shape change is a purely hydrodynamic phenomenon, and the mushroom-shaped flame and bidirectional propagation flame are the result of flame–vortex interaction. In addition, the transition from “corrugated flamelets” to “thin reaction zones” is observed in the simulation.     

Modeling of Liquid Fuel Injection, Evaporation and Mixing in a Gas Turbine Burner Using Large Eddy Simulations

The interaction of turbulence, temperature fluctuation, liquid fuel transport, mixing and evaporation is studied by using Large Eddy Simulations (LES). To assess the accuracy of the different components of the methods we consider first isothermal, single phase flow in a straight duct. The results using different numerical methods incorporating dynamic Sub-Grid-Scale (SGS) models are compared with DNS and experimental data. The effects of the interactions among turbulence, temperature fluctuation, spray transport, evaporation and mixing of the gaseous fuel are studied by using different assumptions on the temperature field. It has been found that there are strong non-linear interactions among temperature-fluctuation, evaporation and turbulent mixing which require additional modeling if not full LES is used. The developed models and methods have been applied to a gas turbine burner into which liquid fuel is injected. The dispersion of the droplets in the burner is described. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investigating cross-wind stability of high-speed trains with large-scale parallel CFD

ABSTRACT

The side-wind loading on a simplified train model at scale 1:25 is investigated by parallel large eddy simulation (LES) with incompressible solvers from the OpenFOAM package and a novel dynamically adaptive, parallel LES-type lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) implemented in our own AMROC framework. It is found that the new LBM code provides more accurate time-averaged force predictions, while compute times are reduced.     

A New Version of Detached-eddy Simulation, Resistant to Ambiguous Grid Densities

Detached-eddy simulation (DES) is well understood in thin boundary layers, with the turbulence model in its Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) mode and flattened grid cells, and in regions of massive separation, with the turbulence model in its large-eddy simulation (LES) mode and grid cells close to isotropic. However its initial formulation, denoted DES97 from here on, can exhibit an incorrect behavior in thick boundary layers and shallow separation regions. This behavior begins when the grid spacing parallel to the wall Δ_∥ becomes less than the boundary-layer thickness δ, either through grid refinement or boundary-layer thickening. The grid spacing is then fine enough for the DES length scale to follow the LES branch (and therefore lower the eddy viscosity below the RANS level), but resolved Reynolds stresses deriving from velocity fluctuations (“LES content”) have not replaced the modeled Reynolds stresses. LES content may be lacking because the resolution is not fine enough to fully support it, and/or because of delays in its generation by instabilities. The depleted stresses reduce the skin friction, which can lead to premature separation.For some research studies in small domains, Δ_∥ is made much smaller than δ, and LES content is generated intentionally. However for natural DES applications in useful domains, it is preferable to over-ride the DES limiter and maintain RANS behavior in boundary layers, independent of Δ_∥ relative to δ. For this purpose, a new version of the technique – referred to as DDES, for Delayed DES – is presented which is based on a simple modification to DES97, similar to one proposed by Menter and Kuntz for the shear–stress transport (SST) model, but applicable to other models. Tests in boundary layers, on a single and a multi-element airfoil, a cylinder, and a backward-facing step demonstrate that RANS function is indeed maintained in thick boundary layers, without preventing LES function after massive separation. The new formulation better fulfills the intent of DES. Two other issues are discussed: the use of DES as a wall model in LES of attached flows, in which the known log-layer mismatch is not resolved by DDES; and a correction that is helpful at low cell Reynolds numbers.     

Progress in subgrid-scale transport modelling for continuous hybrid non-zonal RANS/LES simulations

The partially integrated transport modelling (PITM) method can be viewed as a continuous approach for hybrid RANS/LES modelling allowing seamless coupling between the RANS and the LES regions. The subgrid turbulence quantities are thus calculated from spectral equations depending on the varying spectral cutoff location [Schiestel, R., Dejoan, A., 2005. Towards a new partially integrated transport model for coarse grid and unsteady turbulent flow simulations. Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics 18, 443–468; Chaouat, B., Schiestel, R., 2005. A new partially integrated transport model for subgrid-scale stresses and dissipation rate for turbulent developing flows. Physics of Fluids, 17 (6)] The PITM method can be applied to almost all statistical models to derive its hybrid LES counterpart. In the present work, the PITM version based on the transport equations for the turbulent Reynolds stresses together with the dissipation transport rate equation is now developed in a general formulation based on a new accurate energy spectrum function E(κ) valid in both large and small eddy ranges that allows to calibrate more precisely the c_sgs2 function involved in the subgrid dissipation rate _sgs transport equation. The model is also proposed here in an extended form which remains valid in low Reynolds number turbulent flows. This is achieved by considering a characteristic turbulence length-scale based on the total turbulent energy and the total dissipation rate taking into account the subgrid and resolved parts of the dissipation rate. These improvements allow to consider a large range of flows including various free flows as well as bounded flows. The present model is first tested on the decay of homogeneous isotropic turbulence by referring to the well known experiment of Comte-Bellot and Corrsin. Then, initial perturbed spectra E(κ) with a peak or a defect of energy are considered for analysing the model capabilities in strong non-equilibrium flow situations. The second test case is the classical fully turbulent channel flow that allows to assess the performance of the model in non-homogeneous flows characterised by important anisotropy effects. Different simulations are performed on coarse and refined meshes for checking the grid independence of solutions as well as the consistency of the subgrid-scale model when the filter width is changed. A special attention is devoted to the sharing out of the energy between the subgrid-scales and the resolved scales. Both the mean velocity and the turbulent stress computations are compared with data from direct numerical simulations.     

Efficient computation of mean drag for the subcritical flow past a circular cylinder using general Galerkin G2

General Galerkin (G2) is a new computational method for turbulent flow, where a stabilized Galerkin finite element method is used to compute approximate weak solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations directly, without any filtering of the equations as in a standard approach to turbulence simulation, such as large eddy simulation, and thus no Reynolds stresses are introduced, which need modelling. In this paper, G2 is used to compute the drag coefficient c_D for the flow past a circular cylinder at Reynolds number Re=3900, for which the flow is turbulent. It is found that it is possible to approximate c_D to an accuracy of a few percent, corresponding to the accuracy in experimental results for this problem, using less than 10⁵ mesh points, which makes the simulations possible using a standard PC. The mesh is adaptively refined until a stopping criterion is reached with respect to the error in a chosen output of interest, which in this paper is c_D. Both the stopping criterion and the mesh‐refinement strategy are based on a posteriori error estimates, in the form of a space–time integral of residuals times derivatives of the solution of a dual problem, linearized at the approximate solution, and with data coupling to the output of interest. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RESEARCH ON IMPROVEMENTS OF LRN TURBULENCE MODEL BASED ON FLOW AROUND AUTOMOBILE BODY 1)

本文将汽车绕流模块化为各典型局部流动,通过常用湍流模型对各典型局部流动进行数值模拟,结果验证了湍流模型对转捩的捕捉能力是准确模拟汽车绕流的关键. 在分析汽车绕流分离及转捩机理的基础上,优化了稳态和瞬态求解方法,改进了湍流模型对转捩的预测能力,进而提高了湍流模型在汽车流场模拟上的精度. 针对汽车绕流的稳态问题,将流线曲率因子及 响应阈值引入 LRN $k$-$\varepsilon $ (low Reynolds number $k$-$\varepsilon $) 模型,获得了一种能够更准确预 测转捩的改进低雷诺数湍流模型 (modified LRN $k$-$\varepsilon $),改善了原模型对湍流耗散率的过强依赖性及全应力发展预测不足等问题;针对汽车绕流瞬态求解,通过分析 RANS/LES 混合湍流模型的构造思想及特点,引入约束大涡模拟方法,结合本文提出的改进的 LRN $k$-$\varepsilon $ 湍流模型,提出了一种能准确捕捉转捩现象 的转捩 LRN CLES 模型. 分别将改进的模型用于某实车外流场和风振噪声仿真中,通过 Ansys Fluent 求解器计算,并将计算结果与常用湍流模型的仿真结果、HD-2 风洞试验结果和实车道路实验结果进行对比,表明改进后的湍流模型能够更准确模拟复杂实车的稳态和瞬态特性,为汽车气动特性的研究提供了可靠理论依据及有效数值解决方法.     

Large Eddy Simulation of the vortex end in reverse-flow centrifugal separators

The present work is a study of the gas-flow phenomenon known as the “end of the vortex” (EoV), which spontaneously occurs at the lower end, or under, reverse-flow centrifugal separators such as cyclones or swirl tubes. Different CFD models of swirl tubes have been built to study and analyse this phenomenon in detail. The present numerical work is based on—and compared with—previous experimental observations of this phenomenon. The numerical models were built in complete agreement with the geometrical configurations and operating conditions used in these earlier experimental studies [1]. Two different configurations of swirl tubes were analyzed. One configuration was an in principle long tube with variable length in which the dependence on the vessel length of the behaviour of the vortex core in a simple, well-defined geometry was studied. The other configuration was equipped with a wide “dust collection vessel” at the bottom, the depth of which was varied, to study the behaviour of the vortex core in a widely-used geometry. 3-D LES simulations were carried out using the commercial CFD package Star-CD. The bending of the vortex core to the wall of the vessel and its precessional motion, constituting the phenomenon of the EoV, was seen in both configurations, and the obtained results are in very good agreement, both qualitatively and to an extent quantitatively, with previous experimental results [1].     

Scale resolving simulations of a high-temperature turbulent jet in a cold crossflow: Comparison of two approaches

A high-temperature turbulent jet in a cold crossflow is investigated with the help of two scale-resolving simulation approaches. This work aims at improving the methodologies used to predict the thermal footprint of exhaust gases issuing from helicopter engines onto the fuselage. Specific attention is brought to the capability of scale resolving simulations to correctly reproduce flow dynamics and turbulent mixing. Mean flow features, turbulent quantities and temperature fields are compared and validated against wind tunnel test measurements. In addition, the present work highlights the importance of synthetic turbulence injection at pipe inlet to obtain a fair prediction of both flow dynamics and temperature field.