Modeling Separation-Induced Transition Using a Non-Linear Three Equation Turbulence Model and a Reynolds Stress Turbulence Model

Author(s):  
Zinon Vlahostergios ◽  
Kyros Yakinthos

This paper presents an effort to model separation-induced transition on a flat plate with a semi-circular leading edge, by using two advanced turbulence models, the three equation non-linear model k-ε-A2 of Craft et al. [16] and the Reynolds-stress model of Craft [13]. The mechanism of the transition is governed by the different inlet velocity and turbulence intensity conditions, which lead to different recirculation bubbles and different transition onset points for each case. The use of advanced turbulence models in predicting the development of transitional flows has shown, in past studies, good perspectives. The k-ε-A2 model uses an additional transport equation for the A2 Reynolds stress invariant and it is an improvement of Craft et al. [12] non-linear eddy viscosity model. The use of the third transport equation gives improved results in the prediction of the longitudinal Reynolds stress distributions and especially, in flows where transitional phenomena may occur. Although this model is a pure eddy-viscosity model, it borrows many aspects from the more complex Reynolds-stress models. On the other hand, the use of an advanced Reynolds-stress turbulence model, such as the one of Craft [13], can predict many complex flows and there are indications that it can be applied to transitional flows also, since the crucial terms of Reynolds stress generation are computed exactly and normal stress anisotropy is resolved. The model of Craft [13], overcomes the drawbacks of the common used Reynolds-stress models regarding the computation of wall-normal distances and vectors in order to account for wall proximity effects. Instead of these quantities, it employs “normalized turbulence lengthscale gradients” which give the ability to identify the presence of strong inhomogeneity in a flow development, in an easier way. The final results of both turbulence models showed acceptable agreement with the experimental data. In this work it is shown that there is a good potential to model separation-induced transitional flows, with advanced turbulence modeling without any additional use of ad-hoc modifications or additional equations, based on various transition models.

Author(s):  
Feng Wang ◽  
Mauro Carnevale ◽  
Luca di Mare ◽  
Simon Gallimore

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been widely used for compressor design, yet the prediction of performance and stage matching for multi-stage, high-speed machines remain challenging. This paper presents the authors’ effort to improve the reliability of CFD in multistage compressor simulations. The endwall features (e.g. blade fillet and shape of the platform edge) are meshed with minimal approximations. Turbulence models with linear and non-linear eddy viscosity models are assessed. The non-linear eddy viscosity model predicts a higher production of turbulent kinetic energy in the passages, especially close to the endwall region. This results in a more accurate prediction of the choked mass flow and the shape of total pressure profiles close to the hub. The non-linear viscosity model generally shows an improvement on its linear counterparts based on the comparisons with the rig data. For geometrical details, truncated fillet leads to thicker boundary layer on the fillet and reduced mass flow and efficiency. Shroud cavities are found to be essential to predict the right blockage and the flow details close to the hub. At the part speed the computations without the shroud cavities fail to predict the major flow features in the passage and this leads to inaccurate predictions of massflow and shapes of the compressor characteristic. The paper demonstrates that an accurate representation of the endwall geometry and an effective turbulence model, together with a good quality and sufficiently refined grid result in a credible prediction of compressor matching and performance with steady state mixing planes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Varun Chitta ◽  
Tej P. Dhakal ◽  
D. Keith Walters

A new scalar eddy-viscosity turbulence model is proposed, designed to exhibit physically correct responses to flow transition, streamline curvature, and system rotation effects. The eddy-viscosity model (EVM) developed herein is based on the k–ω framework and employs four transport equations. The transport equation for a structural variable (v2) from a curvature-sensitive Shear Stress Transport (SST) k–ω–v2 model, analogous to the transverse turbulent velocity scale, is added to the three-equation transition-sensitive k–kL–ω model. The physical effects of rotation and curvature (RC) enter the model through the added transport equation. The new model is implemented into a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver and is tested on a number of flow problems involving flow transition and streamline curvature effects. The results obtained from the test cases presented here are compared with available experimental data and several other Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based turbulence models. For the cases tested, the new model successfully resolves both flow transition and streamline curvature effects with reasonable engineering accuracy, for only a small increase in computational cost. The results suggest that the model has potential as a practical tool for the prediction of flow transition and curvature effects over blunt bodies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Wang ◽  
Mauro Carnevale ◽  
Luca di Mare ◽  
Simon Gallimore

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been widely used for compressor design, yet the prediction of performance and stage matching for multistage, high-speed machines remains challenging. This paper presents the authors' effort to improve the reliability of CFD in multistage compressor simulations. The endwall features (e.g., blade filet and shape of the platform edge) are meshed with minimal approximations. Turbulence models with linear and nonlinear eddy viscosity models are assessed. The nonlinear eddy viscosity model predicts a higher production of turbulent kinetic energy in the passages, especially close to the endwall region. This results in a more accurate prediction of the choked mass flow and the shape of total pressure profiles close to the hub. The nonlinear viscosity model generally shows an improvement on its linear counterparts based on the comparisons with the rig data. For geometrical details, truncated filet leads to thicker boundary layer on the filet and reduced mass flow and efficiency. Shroud cavities are found to be essential to predict the right blockage and the flow details close to the hub. At the part speed, the computations without the shroud cavities fail to predict the major flow features in the passage, and this leads to inaccurate predictions of mass flow and shapes of the compressor characteristic. The paper demonstrates that an accurate representation of the endwall geometry and an effective turbulence model, together with a good quality and sufficiently refined grid, result in a credible prediction of compressor matching and performance with steady-state mixing planes.


Author(s):  
O. Z. Mehdizadeh ◽  
L. Temmerman ◽  
B. Tartinville ◽  
Ch. Hirsch

Turbulence modeling remains an active CFD development front for turbomachinery as well as for general industrial applications. While DNS and even LES still seem out of reach within the typical industrial design cycle due to their high computational cost, RANS-based models remain the workhorse of CFD. Currently, the most widely used models are Linear Eddy-Viscosity Models (LEVM), despite their known limitations for certain flow complexities. Therefore, extending the reliability of eddy-viscosity models to more complex flows without significantly increasing the computational cost can immediately contribute to more reliable CFD results for wider range of applications. This, in turn, can further reduce the need for costly tests and consequently can reduce the product development cost. A promising approach to achieve this goal is using Explicit Algebraic Reynolds Stress Models (EARSM), obtained through a simplification of the full Differential Reynolds Stress Models (DRSM), and can be perceived as an extension of LEVMs by including the non-linear relation between the turbulence stress tensor, the mean-flow gradient and the turbulence scales. These models are thus less demanding than DRSM, yet capable of capturing more complex turbulence features, compared to LEVM, such as anisotropy in the normal stresses. This may be particularly important in corner flows, for instance, in the hub-blade regions or in diffusers. This work explores the application of EARSM models to a double diffuser and a high-performance centrifugal compressor stage (HPCC). The results are compared to available experimental data [1,2] showing the importance of including the anisotropy of turbulence in the model, particularly in presence of turbulent corner flows in a diffuser. Furthermore, the EARSM results are also compared to results from the commonly used SST turbulence model. The CFD comparison includes details of the flow structure in the diffuser, where the most noticeable impact from the use of EARSM turbulence models is expected.


Author(s):  
Riccardo Mereu ◽  
Emanuela Colombo ◽  
Fabio Inzoli

The use of numerical approach to support design and product development on industrial applications is nowadays quite widespread. Many industrial applications involve turbulent fluid flows, whose modeling still represents the bottleneck for a wider usage of numerical methods. Indeed, the application of the CFD approach to industrial problem has a number of high demanding requirements since it must deal with relatively short computational time, high geometrical complexity and high Reynolds numbers. These industrial constrains nowadays may be partially faced through RANS approach even if poor capability in predicting accurately the fluid dynamics of complex flows still represents their well known weakness. The aim of this work is to provide a model able to improve the prediction of the flow field in complex flows of industrial interest, with special attention to the presence of strong curvature. Therefore, in order to obtain an increase in the accuracy of the results compared with traditional k-ε models, the implementation of a two-equation Non Linear Eddy Viscosity Model (NLEVM) is proposed. The quadratic formulation of this model has already been validated by experimental and DNS data from literature. In the present work the cubic formulation of this model is applied to a strong-curve-geometry of industrial interest. The data are obtained through an experimental facility developed by the CFDLab of the Department of Energy at Politecnico di Milano. The measures are taken in cooperation with the Combustion and Optical Diagnostic Laboratory research group. The comparison between experimental and numerical data is carried out downstream a strong curvature by looking at mean axial velocity profiles and reattachment point prediction.


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