Turbulent kinetic energy model

In applying the turbulence kinetic energy model it is common to assume that the turbulent Prandtl number, Prr, is constant. 

One-equation models relax the assumption that production and dissipation of turbulence are equal at all points of the flow field. Some effects of the upstream turbulence are incorporated by introducing a transport equation for the turbulence kinetic energy k (20) given by... 

Eigure 20 compares the predictions of the k-Q, RSM, and ASM models and experimental data for the growth of the layer width 5 and the variation of the maximum turbulent kinetic energy k and turbulent shear stress normalized with respect to the friction velocity jp for a curved mixing layer... 

A j, = Model constant for reaction n C = Concentration of species i (mole m ) k = Turbulent kinetic energy density (m s )... 

HOTM AC/RAPTAD contains individual codes HOTMAC (Higher Order Turbulence Model for Atmospheric Circulation), RAPTAD (Random Particle Transport and Diffusion), and computer modules HOTPLT, RAPLOT, and CONPLT for displaying the results of the ctdculalinns. HOTMAC uses 3-dimensional, time-dependent conservation equations to describe wind, lempcrature, moisture, turbulence length, and turbulent kinetic energy. 

As mentioned before in Eq. (3), the most common source of SGS phenomena is turbulence due to the Reynolds number of the flow. It is thus important to understand what the principal length and time scales in turbulent flow are, and how they depend on Reynolds number. In a CFD code, a turbulence model will provide the local values of the turbulent kinetic energy k and the turbulent dissipation rate s. These quantities, combined with the kinematic viscosity of the fluid v, define the length and time scales given in Table I. Moreover, they define the local turbulent Reynolds number ReL also given in the table. 

To estimate the amount of turbulent kinetic energy lost when filtering at a given grid size, it is useful to introduce a normalized model energy spectrum (Pope, 2000) as follows ... 

The k-s turbulence model was developed and described by Launder and Spalding (1972). The turbulent viscosity, pt, is defined in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy, k, and its rate of dissipation, z. 

The Reynolds-averaged approach is widely used for engineering calculations, and typically includes models such as Spalart-Allmaras, k-e and its variants, k-co, and the Reynolds stress model (RSM). The Boussinesq hypothesis, which assumes pt to be an isotropic scalar quantity, is used in the Spalart-Allmaras model, the k-s models, and the k-co models. The advantage of this approach is the relatively low computational cost associated with the computation of the turbulent viscosity, fit. For the Spalart-Allmaras model, one additional transport equation representing turbulent viscosity is solved. In the case of the k-e and k-co models, two additional transport equations for the turbulence kinetic energy, k, and either the turbulence dissipation rate, s, or the specific dissipation rate, co, are solved, and pt is computed as a function of k and either e or co. Alternatively, in the RSM approach, transport equations can be solved for each of the terms in the Reynolds stress tensor. An additional scale-determining equation (usually for s) is also required. This means that seven additional transport equations must be solved in 3D flows. 

The transport equations for the turbulent kinetic energy, k, and the turbulence dissipation, e, in the RNG k-s model are again defined similar to the standard k-s model, now utilizing the effective viscosity defined through the RNG theory. The major difference in the RNG k-s model from the standard k-s model can be found in the e balance where a new source term appears, which is a function of both k and s. The new term in the RNG k- s model makes the turbulence in this model sensitive to the mean rate of strain. The result is a model that responds to the effect of strain and the effect of streamline curvature,... 

The standard wall function is of limited applicability, being restricted to cases of near-wall turbulence in local equilibrium. Especially the constant shear stress and the local equilibrium assumptions restrict the universality of the standard wall functions. The local equilibrium assumption states that the turbulence kinetic energy production and dissipation are equal in the wall-bounded control volumes. In cases where there is a strong pressure gradient near the wall (increased shear stress) or the flow does not satisfy the local equilibrium condition an alternate model, the nonequilibrium model, is recommended (Kim and Choudhury, 1995). In the nonequilibrium wall function the heat transfer procedure remains exactly the same, but the mean velocity is made more sensitive to pressure gradient effects. 

The first term on the right-hand side of (2.61) is the spectral transfer function, and involves two-point correlations between three components of the velocity vector (see McComb (1990) for the exact form). The spectral transfer function is thus unclosed, and models must be formulated in order to proceed in finding solutions to (2.61). However, some useful properties of T (k, t) can be deduced from the spectral transport equation. For example, integrating (2.61) over all wavenumbers yields the transport equation for the turbulent kinetic energy ... 

Even though the Reynolds number gives some measure of turbulent phenomena, flow quantities characteristic of turbulence itself are of more direct relevance to modeling turbulent reacting systems. The turbulent kinetic energy q may be assigned a representative value <7o at a suitable reference point. The relative intensity of the turbulence is then characterized by either q()KH2 U2) or (77(7, where (/ = (2q0)m is a representative root-mean-square velocity fluctuation. Weak turbulence corresponds to U /U < 1 and intense turbulence has (77(7 of the order unity. 

To understand the principal idea of Deacon s model we have to remember the key assumption of the film model according to which a bottleneck boundary is described by an abrupt drop of diffusivity, for instance, from turbulent to molecular conditions (see Fig. 19.3a). Yet, theories on turbulence at a boundary derived from fluid dynamics show that this drop is gradual and that the thickness of the transition zone from fully turbulent to molecular conditions depends on the viscosity of the fluid. In Whitman s film model this effect is incorporated in the film thicknesses, 8a and 8W (Eq. 20-17). In addition, the film thickness depends on the intensity of turbulent kinetic energy production at the interface as, for instance, demonstrated by the relationship between wind velocity and exchange velocity (Figs. 20.2 and 20.3). 

As an example, for steady, incompressible, and isothermal turbulent flows using the k- model, the independent equations are (1) the continuity equation, Eq. (5.61) (2) the momentum equation, Eq. (5.65) (3) the definition of the effective viscosity, /xeff (combination of Eq. (5.64) and Eq. (5.72)) (4) the equation of turbulent kinetic energy, Eq. (5.75) and (5) the equation for the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy, Eq. (5.80). Thus, for a three-dimensional model, the total number of independent equations is seven. The corresponding independent variables are (1) velocity (three components) (2) pressure (3) effective viscosity (4) turbulent kinetic energy and (5) dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy. Thus, the total number of independent variables is also seven, and the model becomes solvable. 

One of the earliest models for turbulence modulation in homogeneous dilute particleladen flows is Hinze s model (1972), in which the assumption of vortex trapping of particles is employed. On the basis of this model, the particle turbulent kinetic energy, kp, is determined by the local gas turbulent kinetic energy k as... 

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