Correcting Anisotropic Gradient Transport of k

The gradient transport model for k is extended to classes of turbulent flows for which the gradient transport hypothesis is relevant but the anisotropy of the Reynolds stress, to which the eddy diffusivity is proportional, is large and variable. In highly anisotropic turbulence the standard isotropic model used in engineering practice is fundamentally wrong and the conventional anisotropic approximation inadequate. The work is motivated by the important observations that the eddy diffusivity coefficient for a standard gradient transport model for various transported quantities is a factor of 3–10 times larger in highly anisotropic turbulence than that used in standard engineering models. While the conventional anisotropic eddy diffusivity approximation appears adequate for material conserved scalars it is inadequate for k. The problem is solved by addressing the anisotropy of the turbulent transport of k at the level of the underlying third order tensor. It is shown that, unlike the traditional transport models for k, the orientation of the anisotropy with respect to the direction of the gradient plays a crucial role not accounted for in conventional models used in engineering calculations. The new anisotropic eddy diffusivity tensor is quadratic in the anisotropy (the traditional model is linear in the anisotropy). It is shown that the new more rigorous anisotropic eddy diffusivity varies 300% more than the standard model comparing the isotropic limit to the value for the two-dimensional limit. The two-dimensional limit is important in strongly stably stratified flows, in pressure gradient or shock driven flows and in rotating flows. Using the simple shear and the homogeneous non-equilibrium Rayleigh Taylor turbulence the new anisotropic diffusivity tensor is validated in inhomogeneous Rayleigh Taylor turbulence at early and late times.