On predicting particle-laden turbulent flows

The paper provides an overview of the challenges and progress associated with the task of numerically predicting particle-laden turbulent flows. The review covers the mathematical methods based on turbulence closure models as well as direct numerical simulation (DNS). In addition, the statistical (pdf) approach in deriving the dispersed-phase transport equations is discussed. The review is restricted to incompressible, isothermal flows without phase change or particle-particle collision. Suggestions are made for improving closure modelling of some important correlations.Lecture presented at a workshop on turbulence in particulate multiphase flow, Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, WA, March 22–23, 1993.     

湍流燃烧中的概率密度函数方法

用求解速度和化学热力学参数联合概率密度函数(pdf)输运方程的方法,计算湍流燃烧问题时,湍流输运和化学反应等过程可以精确计算,无须模拟。它还可以提供比统计矩模型方法更多的信息,因此是一个很有潜力的方法。本文给出了湍流燃烧概率密度函数的输运方程,扼要地介绍了目前应用较多的随机过程模型,以及求解概率密度函数方程的Monte Carlo算法。最后引用两个例子说明概率密度函数方法的优越性。      

Turbulent thermal boundary layer on a plate. Reynolds analogy and heat transfer law over the entire range of prandtl numbers

Arational asymptotic theory is proposed,which describes the turbulent dynamic and thermal boundary layer on a flat plate under zero pressure gradient. The fact that the flow depends on a finite number of governing parameters makes it possible to formulate algebraic closure conditions relating the turbulent shear stress and heat flux with the gradients of the averaged velocity and temperature. As a result of constructing an exact asymptotic solution of the boundary layer equations, the known laws of the wall for velocity and temperature, the velocity and temperature defect laws, and the expressions for the skin friction coefficient, Stanton number, and Reynolds analogy factor are obtained. The latter makes it possible to give two new formulations of the temperature defect law, one of which is identical to the velocity defect law and contains neither the Stanton number nor the turbulent Prandtl number, and the second formulation does not contain the skin friction coefficient. The heat transfer law is first obtained in the form of a universal functional relationship between three parameters: the Stanton number, the Reynolds number, and the molecular Prandtl number. The conclusions of the theory agree well with the known experimental data.     

The AGE method for direct numerical simulation of turbulent shear flow

The advected grid explicit (AGE) method for direct numerical simulation of ‘incompressible’ turbulent shear flows is presented. The Navier–Stokes equations are used for momentum in a velocity–pressure formulation. Mass continuity and an equation of state link pressure with density (which is not assumed identically constant). Time advancement is entirely explicit, and spatial representation is localized (e.g. finite difference) and centred. Magnitudes of non-linear terms are reduced on advected grid(s), and numerical instabilities are efficiently reduced by ‘targeted diffusion’. Computation time scales directly on the number of grid points (virtual memory issues aside), and is very short for a DNS method. A spatially developing two-stream mixing layer was simulated as an example, reaching a vorticity thickness Reynolds number >20 000. Comparison with experimental results from self-similar mixing layers is satisfactory in terms of growth rate and Reynolds stress profiles. Turbulent vortical structures are visualized by means of pressure surfaces. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large eddy simulation of a confined square cavity with natural convection based on compressible flow equations

Large eddy simulation of natural convection in a confined square cavity is described. The use of a complex compressible code with an artificial acoustic stiffness correction method, allows the use of higher time steps for a faster time and statistical convergence. We consider a broadly studied experimental case, consisting of a natural convective flow in a confined square cavity, with vertical walls heated at different rates (active walls), set at Ra = 1.58 × 10⁹. Turbulent boundary layers developing on the active walls and a vertical stable stratification characterize the mean flow. It is shown here that the results of this study match the experimental results reported in literature; for instance, mean velocity results. Although results for rms velocity fluctuations are barely over-predicted, the peak region is properly represented, while the greatest disagreements are found in the turbulent heat flow rate (velocity–temperature correlations). Turbulent structures were identified using different visualization methods and statistical studies. The authors found that the boundary layers on the active walls almost reach the fully turbulent regime, tending toward the laminar regime along the horizontal walls.     

Adaptive large eddy simulation with moving grids

The paper presents adaptive mesh moving methods for large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flows. With this approach, a given number of grid points is redistributed with respect to an appropriately selected criterion. The Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation is applied to solve the governing equation on moving grids employing a collocated finite volume formulation. A dynamic moving mesh partial differential equation based on a variational principle is solved for the corner points of the grid by means of a dedicated solver. Adaptation is performed in a statistical sense so that statistical quantities of interest are employed. Various LES-specific design criteria and combination of them are proposed, such as the time-averaged gradient of streamwise velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and production rate. These are investigated in the framework of elementary and balanced monitor functions. These are tested for the three-dimensional flow in a channel with periodic constrictions. The numerical results are compared to a highly resolved LES reference solution. The independence of the moving mesh method from the initial LES is shown, and its potential to improve the efficient resolution of turbulent flow features is demonstrated.     

各向同性湍流内颗粒碰撞率的直接模拟研究

对 Re_{\lambda } 约为51均匀各向同性湍流内 St_{k}(=\tau_{p}/\tau_{k}) 为 0 ~10.0 的 有限惯性颗粒的碰撞行为进行了直接数值模拟，以研究湍流对有限惯性 颗粒碰撞的影响. 结果表明，具有一定惯性颗粒的湍流碰撞率完全不同于零惯性的轻颗粒 (St_{k}=0) 和可忽略湍流作用的重颗粒 (St{k} \to \infty) , 其变化趋势极其复杂： 在Stk为 0~1.0 之间，颗粒的碰撞率随 St 的增加而近乎线性地剧烈增长，在 Stk≈1.0 3.0(对应的StE=τp/Te≈0.5)附近，颗粒碰撞率出现两个峰值，在Stk>3.0以后，颗粒的碰撞率随惯性增 大而逐渐趋向于重颗粒极限；在峰值处，有限惯性颗粒的平均碰撞率的峰值较轻颗粒增强了 30倍左右. 为进一步分析湍流作用下颗粒碰撞率的影响因素，分别使用可能发生碰撞 的颗粒对的径向分布函数和径向相对速度来量化颗粒的局部富集效应和湍流掺混效应，表明 St_{k} \approx 1.0 时局部富集效应最为强烈，使得颗粒的碰撞率出现第1个峰值； 湍流掺混效应则随着颗粒Stk的增大而渐近增大；局部富集和湍流掺混联合作用的结果， 使得颗粒碰撞率在 St_{k} \approx 3.0 附近出现另一个峰值.     

An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian finite element approach to non‐steady state turbulent fluid flow with application to mould filling in casting

This paper presents a two‐dimensional Lagrangian–Eulerian finite element approach of non‐steady state turbulent fluid flows with free surfaces. The proposed model is based on a velocity–pressure finite element Navier–Stokes solver, including an augmented Lagrangian technique and an iterative resolution of Uzawa type. Turbulent effects are taken into account with the k–ε two‐equation statistical model. Mesh updating is carried out through an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) method in order to describe properly the free surface evolution. Three comparisons between experimental and numerical results illustrate the efficiency of the method. The first one is turbulent flow in an academic geometry, the second one is a mould filling in effective casting conditions and the third one is a precise confrontation to a water model. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large Eddy Simulations of convergent–divergent channel flows at moderate Reynolds numbers

The paper is focused on the study of fully turbulent channel flows, using Large Eddy Simulations (LES), in order to address the effects of adverse pressure gradient regions. Analyses of the effects of streak instabilities, which have been shown to be relevant in such regions, are extended to moderate Reynolds numbers. The work considers two different channel geometries in order to further separate influences from wall curvature, flow separation and adverse pressure gradients. Turbulent kinetic energy and Reynolds stress budgets are investigated at separation and re-attachment points. The numerical approach used in the present work is based on the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, which are solved by a pseudo-spectral methodology for structured grids. Wall-resolved LES calculations are performed using the WALE subgrid scale model. The study shows that the streak instability mechanism persists at higher Reynolds numbers with and without wall curvature in the adverse pressure gradient regions. Moreover, the observed effects are also present regardless of the existence of flow separation regions. Finally, the study of turbulent kinetic energy budgets indicates that, independently of the flow condition, there are well-defined patterns for such turbulent properties at separation and re-attachment points.     

Prediction of periodic boundary layers

A relatively simple, yet efficient and accurate finite difference method is developed for the solution of the unsteady boundary layer equations for both laminar and turbulent flows. The numerical procedure is subjected to rigorous validation tests in the laminar case, comparing its predictions with exact analytical solutions, asymptotic solutions, and/or experimental results. Calculations of periodic laminar boundary layers are performed from low to very high oscillation frequencies, for small and large amplitudes, for zero as well as adverse time-mean pressure gradients, and even in the presence of significant flow reversal. The numerical method is then applied to predict a relatively simple experimental periodic turbulent boundary layer, using two well-known quasi-steady closure models. The predictions are shown to be in good agreement with the measurements, thereby demonstrating the suitability of the present numerical scheme for handling periodic turbulent boundary layers. The method is thus a useful tool for the further development of turbulence models for more complex unsteady flows.     

A PRESSURE CORRECTION METHOD FOR UNSTRUCTURED MESHES WITH ARBITRARY CONTROL VOLUMES

A pressure correction procedure for general unstructured meshes is presented. It is a cell-centred, collocated finite volume method and the pressure–velocity coupling is treated using SIMPLEC. The cells can have an arbitrary number of grid points (cell vertices). In the present study the number of faces on the cells varies between three and six. The discretized equations are solved using either a symmetric Gauss–Seidel solver or a conjugate gradient solver with a preconditioner. The method is applied to three two-dimensional test cases in which the flow is incompressible and laminar. The extension to three dimensions as well as to turbulent flow using transport models is straightforward. It can also be extended to handle compressible flow.     

Solute Concentration Statistics in Heterogeneous Aquifers for Finite Péclet Values

A Lagrangian framework is used for analysing the concentration fields associated with transport of nonreactive solutes in heterogeneous aquifers. This is related to two components: advection by the random velocity field v(x) and pore-scale dispersion, characterized by the dispersion tensor D _d; the relative effect of the two components is quantified by the Péclet number. The principal aim of this paper is to define the probability density function (pdf) of a nonreactive solute concentration and its relevant moments >C< and ² _c as sampled on finite detection volumes. This problem could be relevant in technical applications such as risk analysis, field monitoring and pollution control. A method to compute the concentration statistical moments and pdf is developed in the paper on the basis of the reverse formulation widely adopted to study solute dispersion in turbulent flows. The main advantages of this approach are: (i) a closed form solution for concentration mean and variance is attained, in case of small size of the sampling volume; (ii) a numerically efficient estimate of the concentration pdf can be derived. The relative effects of injection and sampling volume size and Péclet number on concentration statistics are assessed. The analysis points out that the concentration pdf can be reasonably fitted by the beta function. These results are suitable to be employed in practical applications, when the estimate of probability related to concentration thresholds is required.     

Computation of high speed turbulent boundary-layer flows using the k–ϵ turbulence model

The applicability of a finite element-differential method to the computation of steady two-dimensional low-speed, transonic and supersonic turbulent boundary-layer flows is investigated. The turbulence model chosen for the Reynolds shear stress and turbulent heat flux is the K-? two-equation model. Calculations are extended up to the wall and the exact values of the dependent variables at the wall are used as boundary conditions. A number of transformations are carried out and the assumed solutions at a longitudinal station are represented by complete cubic spline functions. In essence, the method converts the governing partial differential equations into a system of ordinary differential equations by a weighted residuals method and invokes an ordinary differential equation solver for the numerical integration of the reduced initial-value problem. The results of the computations reveal that the method is highly accurate and efficient. Furthermore, the accuracy and applicability of the k-? turbulence model are examined by comparing results of the computations with experimental data. The agreement is very good.     

Numerical simulation of a low-Reynolds-number turbulent wake behind a flat plate

A numerical simulation of a plane turbulent wake at a very low Reynolds number has been performed using finite volume methods. The wake was produced by allowing two turbulent boundary layers, simulated separately in advance, to interact downstream of the trailing edge of a thin flat plate. A number of innovative numerical techniques were required in the simulation, such as the provision of fully turbulent time-dependent inflow data from a separate simulation, advective outflow boundary conditions and the approximate representation of an internal solid surface by a method which is computationally efficient. The resulting simulation successfully reproduced many of the statistical properties of the turbulent near-wake flow at low Reynolds number.     

An implicit mixed finite-volume–finite-element method for solving 3D turbulent compressible flows

The development of new aeronautic projects require accurate and efficient simulations of compressible flows in complex geometries. It is well known that most flows of interest are at least locally turbulent and that the modelling of this turbulence is critical for the reliability of the computations. A turbulence closure model which is both cheap and reasonably accurate is an essential part of a compressible code. An implicit algorithm to solve the 2D and 3D compressible Navier–Stokes equations on unstructured triangular/tetrahedral grids has been extended to turbulent flows. This numerical scheme is based on second-order finite element–finite volume discretization: the diffusive and source terms of the Navier–Stokes equations are computed using a finite element method, while the other terms are computed with a finite volume method. Finite volume cells are built around each node by means of the medians. The convective fluxes are evaluated with the approximate Riemann solver of Roe coupled with the van Albada limiter. The standard k–ϵ model has been introduced to take into account turbulence. Implicit integration schemes with efficient numerical methods (CGS, GMRES and various preconditioning techniques) have also been implemented. Our interest is to present the whole method and to demonstrate its limitations on some well-known test cases in three-dimensional geometries. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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     

Turbulent natural convection in a square enclosure bounded by a solid wall with localized heating

Turbulent natural convection and conduction in a square enclosure bounded by a massive wall with a localized heating is numerically studied. The bounding solid wall has a relative thermal conductivity of 10 and a relative thickness of 0.1. Losses to the surroundings are specified using a Biot number of 500. Two-dimensional equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy, with the Boussinesq approximation and using the κ-ε model for turbulence are solved using finite difference method. Grids are generated in a nonuniform manner so that steep gradients near the wall regions are accounted for as required. Numerical solution is obtained for Ra numbers ranging from 10⁶ to 10¹³. The position of the source is also investigated. It is found that the heat transfer by convection is the highest when the heat source is located at the upper part of the cavity. The turbulent properties show also the same conclusion. Received on 4 November 1998     

差分格式收敛性研究的一种新方法

提出了一种对差分格式收敛性进行研究的新方法．应用U变换法和有限差分法，分析了均质简支梁的静力问题，求出了在均布荷载作用下梁的挠度和弯矩的精确解析表达式，并研究其收敛性，得到了收敛率系数的精确值．