Closure of the Reynolds stress and scalar flux equations

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A second‐order, single‐point closure model for calculating the transport of momentum and passive scalar quantities in turbulent flows is described. Of the unknown terms that appear in the Reynolds stress and scalar flux balance equations, it is those which involve the fluctuating pressure that exert a dominant influence in the majority of turbulent flows. A closure approximation (linear in the Reynolds stress) has been formulated for the velocity‐pressure gradient correlation appearing in the Reynolds stress equation. When this is used in conjunction with previous proposals for the other unknown terms in the stress equation, the proposed model closely simulates most of the data on high Reynolds number homogeneous turbulent flows. For the fluctuating scalar‐pressure gradient correlation appearing in the scalar flux equation, an approximation has been devised that satisfies the linear transformation properties of the exact equation. Additional characteristics of the fluctuating scalar field are obtained from the solution of modeled balance equations for the scalar variance and its ‘‘dissipation’’ rate. The resulting complete scalar field model is capable of reproducing measured data in decaying scalar grid turbulence and strongly sheared, nearly homogeneous flow in the presence of a mean scalar gradient. In addition, applications to the thermal mixing layer developing downstream from a partially heated grid and to a slightly heated plane jet issuing into stagnant surrounds result in calculated profiles in close agreement with those measured.

This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit: