Large Eddy Simulation of turbulent shear flows

Abstract

The conceptual foundation underlying Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is summarized, and the numerical methods developed for simulation of the time-developing turbulent mixing layer and turbulent plane Poiseuille flow are discussed. Computational results show that the average Reynolds stress profile nearly attains the equilibrium shape which balances the downstream mean pressure gradient in the regions away from the walls. In the vicinity of the walls, viscous stresses are shown to be significant; together with the Reynolds stresses, these stresses balance the mean pressure gradient. It is stressed that the subgrid scale contribution to the total Reynolds stress is significant only in the vicinity of the walls. The continued development of LES is urged.