A priori tests of turbulence models for compressible flows
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 7 December 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to analyse the performances of closures and compressibility corrections classically used in turbulence models when applied to highly-compressible turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) over flat plates.
Design/methodology/approach
A direct numerical simulation (DNS) database of TBLs, covering a wide range of thermodynamic conditions, is presented and exploited to perform a priori analyses of classical and recent closures for turbulent models. The results are systematically compared to the “exact” terms computed from DNS.
Findings
The few compressibility corrections available in the literature are not found to capture DNS data much better than the uncorrected original models, especially at the highest Mach numbers. Turbulent mass and heat fluxes are shown not to follow the classical gradient diffusion model, which was shown instead to provide acceptable results for modelling the vibrational turbulent heat flux.
Originality/value
The main originality of the present paper resides in the DNS database on which the a priori tests are conducted. The database contains some high-enthalpy simulations at large Mach numbers, allowing to test the performances of the turbulence models in the presence of both chemical dissociation and vibrational relaxation processes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was granted access to the HPC resources of IDRIS and TGCC under the allocation 2023-2B10947 made by Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif (GENCI).
Citation
Sciacovelli, L., Cannici, A., Passiatore, D. and Cinnella, P. (2023), "A priori tests of turbulence models for compressible flows", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-09-2023-0551
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited