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At least 91 records · Page 5

Validation of a High-Fidelity Supersonic Parachute Inflation Dynamics Model and Best Practice

The parachute inflation dynamics (PID) of a Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) parachute system travelling at supersonic velocities in the high-altitude Earth atmosphere is simulated using a high-fidelity, multiphysics, massively-parallel computational framework. The sensitivity of the simulation results with respect to critical modelling and simulation parameters, including the fluid mechanical governing equations (Euler vs Navier-Stokes with RANS turbulence closure vs Navier-Stokes with LES turbulence closer), the interaction between the flow and the suspension lines (accounted for vs not accounted for), the dynamics of the payload (restrained vs free), and the material model of the heterogeneous fabric canopy (Saint-Venant Kirchoff vs mechanics-informed multiscale neural network), is extensively investigated. The parameter investigation is enabled by advancements to the state-of-the-art in the modelling and simulation of the supersonic parachute inflation process, which are presented as part of the computational framework. The predictive quality of the computational framework in the context of supersonic PID is validated by comparison of the simulation results with the experimental results from NASA’s Advanced Supersonic Parachute Research (ASPIRE) project. Through the validation, best practices for the modelling and simulation of supersonic PID are developed and proposed.

Rabinovitch, Jason↗

Progress in turbulence modeling for complex flow fields including effects of compressibility

Two second-order-closure turbulence models were devised that are suitable for predicting properties of complex turbulent flow fields in both incompressible and compressible fluids. One model is of the "two-equation" variety in which closure is accomplished by introducing an eddy viscosity which depends on both a turbulent mixing energy and a dissipation rate per unit energy, that is, a specific dissipation rate. The other model is a "Reynolds stress equation" (RSE) formulation in which all components of the Reynolds stress tensor and turbulent heat-flux vector are computed directly and are scaled by the specific dissipation rate. Computations based on these models are compared with measurements for the following flow fields: (a) low speed, high Reynolds number channel flows with plane strain or uniform shear; (b) equilibrium turbulent boundary layers with and without pressure gradients or effects of compressibility; and (c) flow over a convex surface with and without a pressure gradient.

Wilcox, D. C.↗

Prediction of the turbulent wake with second-order closure

A turbulence was envisioned whose energy containing scales would be Gaussian in the absence of inhomogeneity, gravity, etc. An equation was constructed for a function equivalent to the probability density, the second moment of which corresponded to the accepted modeled form of the Reynolds stress equation. The third moment equations obtained from this were simplified by the assumption of weak inhomogeneity. Calculations are presented with this model as well as interpretations of the results.

Taulbee, D. B.↗

Reynolds stress closure in jet flows using wave models

Ways of implementing the turbulence closure scheme based on modeling the large scale coherent structures as instability waves were sought. The computational tools necessary to apply this scheme to jets of arbitrary geometry were developed. The model, developed earlier, was extended to the shock structure of supersonic jets of arbitrary geometry and multiple jets. It was found that though the qualititate features of the unsteady flow field could be predicted there were always difficulties with some of the quantitative features. This led to the new formation of the closure scheme. The schemes for computations tools which were developed are efficient and represent the application of the very powerful mathematical tools to the problems of practical significance.

Morris, P. J.↗

The role of atmospheric shear, turbulence and a ground plane on the dissipation of aircraft vortex wakes

Enhanced dispersion of two-dimensional trailed vortex pairs within simplified neutral atmospheric backgrounds is studied numerically for three conditions: when the pair is imbedded in a constant turbulent bath (constant dissipation); when the pair is subjected to a mean cross-wind shear; and when the pair is near the ground. Turbulent transport is modeled using second-order closure turbulent transport theory. The turbulent background fields are constructed using a superequilibrium approximation. The computed results allow several general conclusions to be drawn with regard to the reduction in circulation of the vortex pair and the rolling moment induced on a following aircraft: (1) the rate of decay of a vortex pair increases with increasing background dissipation rate; (2) cross-wind shear disperses the vortex whose vorticity is opposite to the background; and (3) the proximity of a ground plane reduces the hazard of the pair by scrubbing. The phenomenon of vortex bounce is explained in terms of secondary vorticity produced at the ground plane. Qualitative comparisons are made with available experimental data, and inferences of these results upon the persistence of aircraft trailing vortices are discussed.

Bilanin, A. J.↗

Turbulence modeling for high speed compressible flows

Turbulence models are necessary in numerical simulations because of the impracticality of computing all scales of turbulent motion. Approximate methods, or turbulence models, are introduced to simplify and make the computations practical. There are several approaches to turbulence modeling: subgrid scale modeling; modeling of all the scales of turbulent motion; eddy viscosity; and Reynolds stress turbulence closure models. In many instances, computations based on turbulence models are compared with available experimental data. The effort is directed at seeking models which have reasonable accuracy over a limited range of flow conditions. Future needs are briefly discussed. Work to date is outlined.

Chandra, Suresh↗

Lead-induced atmospheric circulations

Leads provide a significant source of heat and moisture to the Arctic winter atmosphere, and plumes from wide leads have been observed to penetrate the Arctic inversion. We have developed a two-dimensional, high-resolution, deep anelastic numerical model to investigate the atmospheric convection from leads with widths ranging from 100 m to 10 km. A second-order turbulence closure scheme is used to parameterize the atmospheric turbulence in the horizontally inhomogeneous system. This study describes how the lead-induced circulations can enhance the vertical transport of heat into the atmospheric boundary layer. This model is compared with large-eddy simulation results and with lidar observations of a lead-induced ice crystal plume. The model is used to study the effect of varying lead widths and ambient atmospheric conditions on the resultant convection from leads, and some preliminary results are described.

Alam, Afshan↗

Turbulence Modeling and Computation of Turbine Aerodynamics and Heat Transfer

The objective of the present research is to develop improved turbulence models for the computation of complex flows through turbomachinery passages, including the effects of streamline curvature, heat transfer and secondary flows. Advanced turbulence models are crucial for accurate prediction of rocket engine flows, due to existance of very large extra strain rates, such as strong streamline curvature. Numerical simulation of the turbulent flows in strongly curved ducts, including two 180-deg ducts, one 90-deg duct and a strongly concave curved turbulent boundary layer have been carried out with Reynolds stress models (RSM) and algebraic Reynolds stress models (ARSM). An improved near-wall pressure-strain correlation has been developed for capturing the anisotropy of turbulence in the concave region. A comparative study of two modes of transition in gas turbine, the by-pass transition and the separation-induced transition, has been carried out with several representative low-Reynolds number (LRN) k-epsilon models. Effects of blade surface pressure gradient, freestream turbulence and Reynolds number on the blade boundary layer development, and particularly the inception of transition are examined in detail. The present study indicates that the turbine blade transition, in the presence of high freestream turbulence, is predicted well with LRN k-epsilon models employed. The three-dimensional Navier-Stokes procedure developed by the present authors has been used to compute the three-dimensional viscous flow through the turbine nozzle passage of a single stage turbine. A low Reynolds number k-epsilon model and a zonal k-epsilon/ARSM (algebraic Reynolds stress model) are utilized for turbulence closure. An assessment of the performance of the turbulence models has been carried out. The two models are found to provide similar predictions for the mean flow parameters, although slight improvement in the prediction of some secondary flow quantities has been obtained by the ARSM model. It's found that the wake profiles inside the endwall boundary layers are predicted better than those near the mid-span.

Lakshminarayana, B.↗

Turbulent transport model of a thunderstorm gust front

A second-order closure turbulent model is adopted to predict complex fluid flows; few a priori assumptions about the internal turbulent and mean flow structures are required. The flow simulations are applied to the analysis of local gust fronts generated by rain-cooled outflows from severe thunderstorms. Results of the simulations provide a means for discussing the behavior of an aircraft passing through a thunderstorm-related downdraft.

Teske, M. E.↗

Turbulent transport modelling of separating and reattaching shear flows

The improvement of capabilities for computer simulation of turbulent recirculating flows was investigated. Attention has been limited to two dimensional flows and principally to statistically stationary motion. Improvement of turbulence modeling explored the treatment of the near wall sublayer and of the exterior fully turbulent region, working within the framework of turbulence closures requiring the solution of transport equations for the turbulence energy and its dissipation rate. The work on the numerical procedure, based on the Gosman-Pun program TEACH, addressed the problems of incorporating the turbulence model as well as the extension to time dependent flows, the incorporation of a third order approximation of convective transport, and the treatment of non-orthogonal boundaries.

Launder, B. E.↗

Computation of turbulent flows over backward and forward-facing steps using a near-wall Reynolds stress model

Separation and reattachment of turbulent shear layers is observed in many important engineering applications, yet it is poorly understood. This has motivated many studies on understanding and predicting the processes of separation and reattachment of turbulent shear layers. Both of the situations in which separation is induced by adverse pressure gradient, or by discontinuities of geometry, have attracted attention of turbulence model developers. Formulation of turbulence closure models to describe the essential features of separated turbulent flows accurately is still a formidable task. Computations of separated flows associated with sharp-edged bluff bodies are described. For the past two decades, the backward-facing step flow, the simplest separated flow, has been a popular test case for turbulence models. Detailed studies on the performance of many turbulence models, including two equation turbulence models and Reynolds stress models, for flows over steps can be found in the papers by Thangam & Speziale and Lasher & Taulbee). These studies indicate that almost all the existing turbulence models fail to accurately predict many important features of back step flow such as reattachment length, recovery rate of the redeveloping boundary layers downstream of the reattachment point, streamlines near the reattachment point, and the skin friction coefficient. The main objectives are to calculate flows over backward and forward-facing steps using the NRSM and to make use of the newest DNS data for detailed comparison. This will give insights for possible improvements of the turbulence model.

Ko, Sung HO↗

Turbulence kinetic energy equation for dilute suspensions

A multiphase turbulence closure model is presented which employs one transport equation, namely the turbulence kinetic energy equation. The proposed form of this equation is different from the earlier formulations in some aspects. The power spectrum of the carrier fluid is divided into two regions, which interact in different ways and at different rates with the suspended particles as a function of the particle-eddy size ratio and density ratio. The length scale is described algebraically. A mass/time averaging procedure for the momentum and kinetic energy equations is adopted. The resulting turbulence correlations are modeled under less retrictive assumptions comparative to previous work. The closures for the momentum and kinetic energy equations are given. Comparisons of the predictions with experimental results on liquid-solid jet and gas-solid pipe flow show satisfactory agreement.

Abou-Arab, T. W.↗

On recontamination and directional-bias problems in Monte Carlo simulation of PDF turbulence models

Turbulent combustion can not be simulated adequately by conventional moment closure turbulence models. The difficulty lies in the fact that the reaction rate is in general an exponential function of the temperature, and the higher order correlations in the conventional moment closure models of the chemical source term can not be neglected, making the applications of such models impractical. The probability density function (pdf) method offers an attractive alternative: in a pdf model, the chemical source terms are closed and do not require additional models. A grid dependent Monte Carlo scheme was studied, since it is a logical alternative, wherein the number of computer operations increases only linearly with the increase of number of independent variables, as compared to the exponential increase in a conventional finite difference scheme. A new algorithm was devised that satisfies a restriction in the case of pure diffusion or uniform flow problems. Although for nonuniform flows absolute conservation seems impossible, the present scheme has reduced the error considerably.

Hsu, Andrew T.↗

Second order closure modeling of turbulent buoyant wall plumes

Non-intrusive measurements of scalar and momentum transport in turbulent wall plumes, using a combined technique of laser Doppler anemometry and laser-induced fluorescence, has shown some interesting features not present in the free jet or plumes. First, buoyancy-generation of turbulence is shown to be important throughout the flow field. Combined with low-Reynolds-number turbulence and near-wall effect, this may raise the anisotropic turbulence structure beyond the prediction of eddy-viscosity models. Second, the transverse scalar fluxes do not correspond only to the mean scalar gradients, as would be expected from gradient-diffusion modeling. Third, higher-order velocity-scalar correlations which describe turbulent transport phenomena could not be predicted using simple turbulence models. A second-order closure simulation of turbulent adiabatic wall plumes, taking into account the recent progress in scalar transport, near-wall effect and buoyancy, is reported in the current study to compare with the non-intrusive measurements. In spite of the small velocity scale of the wall plumes, the results showed that low-Reynolds-number correction is not critically important to predict the adiabatic cases tested and cannot be applied beyond the maximum velocity location. The mean and turbulent velocity profiles are very closely predicted by the second-order closure models. but the scalar field is less satisfactory, with the scalar fluctuation level underpredicted. Strong intermittency of the low-Reynolds-number flow field is suspected of these discrepancies. The trends in second- and third-order velocity-scalar correlations, which describe turbulent transport phenomena, are also predicted in general, with the cross-streamwise correlations better than the streamwise one. Buoyancy terms modeling the pressure-correlation are shown to improve the prediction slightly. The effects of equilibrium time-scale ratio and boundary condition are also discussed.

Zhu, Gang↗

A review of near-wall Reynolds-stress

The advances made in second-order near-wall turbulence closures are summarized. All closures examined are based on some form of high Reynolds number models for the Reynolds stress and the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate equations. Consequently, most near-wall closures proposed to data attempt to modify the high Reynolds number models for the dissipation rate equation so that the resultant models are applicable all the way to the wall. The near-wall closures are examined for their asymptotic behavior so that they can be compared with the proper near-wall behavior of the exact equations. A comparison of the closure's performance in the calculation of a low Reynolds number plane channel flow is carried out. In addition, the closures are evaluated for their ability to predict the turbulence statistics and the limiting behavior of the structure parameters compared to direct simulation data.

So, R. M. C.↗

On recontamination and directional-bias problems in Monte Carlo simulation of PDF turbulence models

Turbulent combustion can not be simulated adequately by conventional moment closure turbulent models. The probability density function (PDF) method offers an attractive alternative: in a PDF model, the chemical source terms are closed and do not require additional models. Because the number of computational operations grows only linearly in the Monte Carlo scheme, it is chosen over finite differencing schemes. A grid dependent Monte Carlo scheme following J.Y. Chen and W. Kollmann has been studied in the present work. It was found that in order to conserve the mass fractions absolutely, one needs to add further restrictions to the scheme, namely alpha(sub j) + gamma(sub j) = alpha(sub j - 1) + gamma(sub j + 1). A new algorithm was devised that satisfied this restriction in the case of pure diffusion or uniform flow problems. Using examples, it is shown that absolute conservation can be achieved. Although for non-uniform flows absolute conservation seems impossible, the present scheme has reduced the error considerably.

Hsu, Andrew T.↗

Numerical analysis and FORTRAN program for the computation of the turbulent wakes of turbomachinery rotor blades, isolated airfoils and cascade of airfoils

Turbulent wakes of turbomachinery rotor blades, isolated airfoils, and a cascade of airfoils were investigated both numerically and experimentally. Low subsonic and incompressible wake flows were examined. A finite difference procedure was employed in the numerical analysis utilizing the continuity, momentum, and turbulence closure equations in the rotating, curvilinear, and nonorthogonal coordinate system. A nonorthogonal curvilinear coordinate system was developed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the numerical calculation. Three turbulence models were employed to obtain closure of the governing equations. The first model was comprised to transport equations for the turbulent kinetic energy and the rate of energy dissipation, and the second and third models were comprised of equations for the rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation and Reynolds stresses, respectively. The second model handles the convection and diffusion terms in the Reynolds stress transport equation collectively, while the third model handles them individually. The numerical results demonstrate that the second and third models provide accurate predictions, but the computer time and memory storage can be considerably saved with the second model.

Hah, C.↗

The prediction of two- and three-dimensional asymmetrical turbulent wakes - A comparision of the performance of three turbulence models for the effects of streamline curvature and rotation

Two- and three-dimensional turbulent wakes which develop under the influence of streamline curvature and rotation were calculated with three turbulence closure models. The first model comprised of transport equations for the turbulent kinetic energy and the rate of energy dissipation. The second model comprised of equations for the rate of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation and Reynolds stresses, but the effects of the convection and diffusion in the Reynolds stress transport equation were handled collectively. The third model utilizes equations of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation and Reynolds stresses in nearly exact form. All of the three models were modified for the effects of streamline curvature. The second and third models include the effects of rotation through the rotation-originated redistribution term in the transport equation of Reynolds stresses. The numerical results for the wakes of airfoils, cascades and turbomachinery rotor blades demonstrate that the second and third models provide accurate predictions, but computer time and storage can be considerably saved with the second model.

Hah, C.↗