CFX12 09 Turbulence

Turbulence
Training Manual
Chapter 9
Turbulence
Introduction to CFX
ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Turbulence
What is Turbulence?
Training Manual
Unsteady, irregular (non-periodic) motion in which transported

quantities (mass, momentum, scalar species) fluctuate in time and
space
Identifiable swirling patterns characterize turbulent eddies
Enhanced mixing (matter, momentum, energy, etc.) results
Fluid properties and velocity exhibit random variations

Statistical averaging results in accountable, turbulence related transport
mechanisms
This characteristic allows for turbulence modeling
Contains a wide range of turbulent eddy sizes (scales spectrum)

The size/velocity of large eddies is on the order of the mean flow
Large eddies derive energy from the mean flow
Energy is transferred from larger eddies to smaller eddies

In the smallest eddies, turbulent energy is converted to internal energy by
viscous dissipation
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Turbulence
Is the Flow Turbulent?
Training Manual
Flows can be characterized by the Reynolds Number, Re

External Flows
U L
L x, d , d h , etc.
where Re L
Re x 500,000 along a surface

Re d 20,000 around an obstacle
Other factors such as free-stream

turbulence, surface conditions, and
disturbances may cause transition
to turbulence at lower Reynolds
numbers
Internal Flows
Re d h 2,300
Natural Convection
2
3
3
g
L
T
Ra
g
L
T
p
9
10
where Ra
is the Rayleigh number
Pr
k
Cp
Pr
is the Prandtl number
k
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Turbulence
Observation by O. Reynolds
Training Manual
Laminar
(Low Reynolds Number)
Transition
(Increasing Reynolds Number)
Turbulent
(Higher Reynolds Number)
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Turbulence
Turbulent Flow Structures
Small
structures
Training Manual
Large
structures
Energy Cascade
Richardson (1922)
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Turbulence
Governing Equations
Training Manual
Conservation Equations
Continuity
( ui ) 0
t xi
Momentum
P ij
( u i )
( ui u j )
t
x j
xi x j
Energy
P
T
( htot )
( htot u j )
(ui ij
)
t
x j
t x j
x j
where
ui u j 2 ui
ij
ij
x
xi 3 x j
j
1
htot h ui2
2
Note that there is no turbulence equation in the governing

Navier-Stokes equations!
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Turbulence
Overview of Computational Approaches
Training Manual
Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS)

Theoretically, all turbulent (and laminar / transition) flows can be simulated by
numerically solving the full Navier-Stokes equations
Resolves the whole spectrum of scales. No modeling is required
But the cost is too prohibitive! Not practical for industrial flows
Large Eddy Simulation (LES) type models

Solves the spatially averaged N-S equations
Large eddies are directly resolved, but eddies smaller than the mesh are modeled
Less expensive than DNS, but the amount of computational resources and efforts
are still too large for most practical applications
Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models

Solve time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations
All turbulent length scales are modeled in RANS
Various different models are available
This is the most widely used approach for calculating industrial flows
There is not yet a single, practical turbulence model that can reliably predict
all turbulent flows with sufficient accuracy
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Turbulence
RANS Modeling Time Averaging
Training Manual
Ensemble (time) averaging may be used to extract the mean flow properties
from the instantaneous ones
The instantaneous velocity, ui, is split into average and fluctuating components
1
ui x, t lim
N N
ui
x, t
ui x, t
n 1
ui x, t
ui x, t ui x, t ui x, t
u i x, t
Example: Fully-Developed
Turbulent Pipe Flow
Velocity Profile
Instantaneous Time-average Fluctuating

component
component
component
The Reynolds-averaged momentum equations are as follows
ui
u
p
uk i
xk
xi x j
t
ui
x
j
Rij
x j
Rij uiu j
(Reynolds stress tensor)
The Reynolds stresses are additional unknowns introduced by the averaging

procedure, hence they must be modeled (related to the averaged flow quantities) in
order to close the system of governing equations
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Turbulence
RANS Modeling The Closure Problem
Training Manual
Closure problem: Relate the unknown Reynolds

Stresses to the known mean flow variables through new
equations
The new equations are the turbulence model
Equations can be:

Algebraic
Transport equations
All turbulence models contain empiricism

Equations cannot be derived from fundamental principles
Some calibrating to observed solutions and intelligent
guessing is contained in the models
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Turbulence
RANS Modeling The Closure Problem
Training Manual
The RANS models can be closed in one of the following ways

(1) Eddy Viscosity Models (via the Boussinesq hypothesis)
ui u j 2 uk
2
Rij ui u j T

k ij
x x 3 T x ij 3
j
i
k
Boussinesq hypothesis Reynolds stresses are modeled using an eddy (or

turbulent) viscosity, T. The hypothesis is reasonable for simple turbulent shear
flows: boundary layers, round jets, mixing layers, channel flows, etc.
(2) Reynolds-Stress Models (via transport equations for Reynolds stresses)

Modeling is still required for many terms in the transport equations
RSM is more advantageous in complex 3D turbulent flows with large streamline
curvature and swirl, but the model is more complex, computationally intensive,
more difficult to converge than eddy viscosity models

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Turbulence
Available Turbulence Models
Training Manual
A large number of turbulence models are available in CFX, some

have very specific applications while others can be applied to a
wider class of flows with a reasonable degree of confidence
RANS Eddy-viscosity Models:
RANS Reynolds-Stress Models:
1) Zero Equation model.
1) LRR Reynolds Stress
2) Standard k- model.
2) QI Reynolds Stress
3) RNG k- model.
3) Speziale, Sarkar and Gatski Reynolds Stress
4) Standard k- model.
4) SMC- model
5) Baseline (BSL) zonal k- based model.
5) Baseline (BSL) Reynolds' Stress model
6) SST zonal k- based model.

7) (k-)1E model.
Eddy Simulation Models:

1) Large Eddy Simulation (LES) [transient]
2) Detached Eddy Simulation (DES)* [transient]
3) Scale Adaptive Simulation SST (SAS)* [transient]

Not available in the ANSYS CFD-Flo product
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Turbulence
Turbulence Near the Wall
Training Manual
The velocity profile near the wall is

important:
Pressure Drop
Separation
Shear Effects
Recirculation
Turbulence models are generally suited to

model the flow outside the boundary layer
Examination of experimental data yields a
wide variety of results in the boundary
layer

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The above graph shows nondimensional velocity versus nondimensional distance from the
wall. Different flows show
different boundary layer profiles.
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Turbulence
Training Manual
By scaling the variables near the wall the velocity profile data takes
on a predictable form (transitioning from linear to logarithmic
behavior)
Scaling the non-dimensional
velocity and nondimensional distance from
the wall results in a
predictable boundary layer
profile for a wide range of
flows
Linear
Logarithmic
Since near wall conditions are often predictable, functions can be

used to determine the near wall profiles rather than using a fine
mesh to actually resolve the profile
These functions are called wall functions
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Turbulence
Training Manual
Fewer nodes are needed normal to the wall when wall functions
are used
y
y
u
Wall functions used to

resolve boundary layer
Wall functions not used to

resolve boundary layer
Boundary layer

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Turbulence
Turbulence Near The Wall
Training Manual
y+ is the non-dimensional distance from the wall

It is used to measure the distance of the first node away from the wall
y
u
Boundary layer
y+
Wall functions are only valid within specific y+ values

If y+ is too high the first node is outside the boundary layer and wall
functions will be imposed too far into the domain
If y+ is too low the first node will lie in the laminar (viscous) part of the
boundary layer where wall functions are not valid
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Turbulence
Training Manual
In some situations, such as boundary layer separation, wall

functions do not correctly predict the boundary layer profile
Wall functions applicable
Wall functions not applicable
In these cases wall functions should not be used

Instead, directly resolving the boundary layer can provide accurate
results
Not all turbulence models allow the wall functions to be turned off

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Turbulence
k-epsilon Model
Training Manual
Standard k- Model
The industrial CFD standard since it offer a good compromise between
numerical effort and computational accuracy
Wall functions are always used
y+ should typically be < 300 for the wall functions to be valid
There is no lower limit on y+
CFX uses Scalable wall functions
If your mesh results in y+ values below the valid range of the wall functions, the
nodes nearest the wall are effectively ignored
This ensures valid results, within the model limitations, but is a waste of mesh
Known limitations:
Separation generally under predicted since wall functions are used
Inaccuracies with swirling flows and flows with strong streamline curvature
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Turbulence
k-omega Model
Training Manual
k- Model
One of the advantages of the k- formulation is the near wall treatment
for low-Reynolds number computations
Here low-Reynolds refers to the turbulent Reynolds number, which is low in
the viscous sub-layer, not the device Reynolds number
In other words low-Reynolds number computations means the near wall
mesh is fine enough to resolve the laminar (viscous) part of the boundary layer
which is very close to the wall
A low-Reynolds number k- model only requires y+ <= 2

If a low-Re k- model were available, it would require a much small y+
In industrial flows, even y+ <= 2 cannot be guaranteed in most

applications and for this reason, a new automatic near wall treatment
was developed for the k- models

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Turbulence
k-omega Model
Training Manual
k- Model (continued)
The Automatic wall treatment for the k- models switches between a lowReynolds number formulation (i.e. direct resolution of the boundary
layer) at low y+ values and a wall function approach at higher y+ values
This lets you take advantage of a fine near-wall mesh when present
Airfoil at Mach 0.5 showing the mesh and y+ values.

y+ values are >2. A finer near wall mesh is required
to achieve y+ < 2.
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Turbulence
SST Model
Training Manual
Shear Stress Transport (SST) Model

The SST model is based on the k- model and has the same automatic
wall treatment
It accounts for the transport of the turbulent shear stress and gives
highly accurate predictions of the onset and the amount of flow
separation
This is a good default choice
k- fails to predict separation
SST result and experiment
Experiment Gersten et al.

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Turbulence
y+ for the SST and k-omega Models
Training Manual
When using the SST or k- models y+ should be < 300 so that the wall
function approach is valid
This will not take advantage of the low-Reynolds formulation, which is necessary
for accurate separation prediction
However, the model can still be used on these coarser near-wall mesh and produce
valid results, within the limitations of the wall functions
To take full advantage of the low-Reynolds formulation y+ should be < 2

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Turbulence
Estimating y+
Training Manual
It is useful to estimate y+ before obtaining a solution

Saves time!
Use the following formula based on flow over a flat plate:
y L y
74 Re
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L
y is the actual distance between the wall and first node

L is a flow length scale
y+ is the desired y+ value
ReL is the Reynolds Number based on the length scale L
See the documentation for a derivation of this formula

ANSYS CFX-Solver Modeling Guide >> Turbulence and Near-Wall
Modeling >> Modeling Flow Near the Wall >> Guidelines for Mesh
Generation
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Turbulence
Other Turbulence Models
Training Manual
When RANS models are not adequate, Eddy Simulation models can
be used
As already mentioned, these are more computationally expensive
Large Eddy Simulation (LES)

Resolves the large eddies, models the small eddies
Problem: Requires a very fine boundary layer mesh, making it
impractical for most flows
Detached Eddy Simulation (DES)

Uses a RANS model in the boundary layer, switches over to LES in the
bulk flow
A standard boundary layer mesh can be used
Problem: the RANS to LES switch depends on the mesh, which can give
unphysical results on the wrong mesh
Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS)

Like DES, but without the mesh dependency problems
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Turbulence
Inlet Turbulence Conditions
Training Manual
Unless turbulence is being directly simulated, it is accounted for by

modeling the transport of turbulence properties, for example k and
Similar to mass and momentum, turbulence variables require
boundary condition specifications
Several options exist for the specification of turbulence quantities at inlets
(details on next slide)
Unless you have absolutely no idea of the turbulence levels in your

simulation (in which case, you can use the Medium (Intensity = 5%)
option), you should use well chosen values of turbulence intensities
and length scales
Nominal turbulence intensities range from 1% to 5% but will depend on
your specific application
The default turbulence intensity value of 0.037 (that is, 3.7%) is

sufficient for nominal turbulence through a circular inlet, and is a good
estimate in the absence of experimental data
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Turbulence
Inlet Turbulence Conditions
Training Manual
Default Intensity and Autocompute Length Scale
The default turbulence intensity of 0.037 (3.7%) is used together with a computed length scale to approximate
inlet values of k and . The length scale is calculated to take into account varying levels of turbulence. In
general, the autocomputed length scale is not suitable for external flows
Intensity and Autocompute Length Scale
This option allows you to specify a value of turbulence intensity but the length scale is still automatically
computed. The allowable range of turbulence intensities is restricted to 0.1%-10.0% to correspond to very low
and very high levels of turbulence accordingly. In general, the autocomputed length scale is not suitable for
external flows
Intensity and Length Scale
You can specify the turbulence intensity and length scale directly, from which values of k and are calculated
Low (Intensity = 1%)
This defines a 1% intensity and a viscosity ratio equal to 1
Medium (Intensity = 5%)

This is the recommended option if you do not have any information about the inlet turbulence
High (Intensity = 10%)
Specified Intensity and Eddy Viscosity Ratio
Use this feature if you wish to enter your own values for intensity and viscosity ratio
k and Epsilon
Specify the values of k and directly
Zero Gradient
Use this setting for fully developed turbulence conditions

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Turbulence
Example: Pipe Expansion with Heat Transfer
Training Manual
Reynolds Number ReD= 40750

Fully Developed Turbulent Flow at Inlet
Experiments by Baughn et al. (1984)
.q=const
.q=0
D
Outlet
Inlet
axis
40 x H
H
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Turbulence
Example: Pipe Expansion with Heat Transfer
Training Manual
Plot shows dimensionless distance versus Nusselt Number

Best agreement is with SST and k-omega models which do a better job of
capturing flow recirculation zones accurately

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Turbulence
Summary: Turbulence Modeling Guidelines
Training Manual
Successful turbulence modeling requires engineering judgment of:

Flow physics
Computer resources available
Project requirements
Accuracy
Turnaround time
Near-wall treatments
Modeling procedure
Calculate characteristic Re and determine whether the flow is turbulent

Estimate y+ before generating the mesh
The SST model is good choice for most flows
Use the Reynolds Stress Model or the SST model with Curvature
Correction (see documentation) for highly swirling, 3-D, rotating flows

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Turbulence

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

April 28, 2009

Unsteady, irregular (non-periodic) motion in which transported

Fluid properties and velocity exhibit random variations

Contains a wide range of turbulent eddy sizes (scales spectrum)

Energy is transferred from larger eddies to smaller eddies

April 28, 2009

Is the Flow Turbulent?

Flows can be characterized by the Reynolds Number, Re

Re x 500,000 along a surface

Other factors such as free-stream

April 28, 2009

April 28, 2009

Turbulent Flow Structures

April 28, 2009

Note that there is no turbulence equation in the governing

April 28, 2009

Overview of Computational Approaches

Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS)

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) type models

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) models

April 28, 2009

RANS Modeling Time Averaging

Instantaneous Time-average Fluctuating

The Reynolds-averaged momentum equations are as follows

The Reynolds stresses are additional unknowns introduced by the averaging

April 28, 2009

RANS Modeling The Closure Problem

Closure problem: Relate the unknown Reynolds

Equations can be:

All turbulence models contain empiricism

April 28, 2009

RANS Modeling The Closure Problem

The RANS models can be closed in one of the following ways

Boussinesq hypothesis Reynolds stresses are modeled using an eddy (or

(2) Reynolds-Stress Models (via transport equations for Reynolds stresses)

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

April 28, 2009

Available Turbulence Models

A large number of turbulence models are available in CFX, some

RANS Reynolds-Stress Models:

1) Zero Equation model.

1) LRR Reynolds Stress

3) Speziale, Sarkar and Gatski Reynolds Stress

5) Baseline (BSL) zonal k- based model.

5) Baseline (BSL) Reynolds' Stress model

6) SST zonal k- based model.

Eddy Simulation Models:

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

Not available in the ANSYS CFD-Flo product

April 28, 2009

Turbulence Near the Wall

The velocity profile near the wall is

Turbulence models are generally suited to

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary

April 28, 2009

Turbulence Near the Wall

Since near wall conditions are often predictable, functions can be

April 28, 2009