A multi-physics correction of the shear-stress transport turbulence model for supersonic flows

Abstract

Though the k–ω shear-stress transport (SST) turbulence model is widely used, it is developed based on incompressible flow and the analysis of simple flow characteristics such as boundary layer and free shear flows. Due to the lack of comprehensive consideration of important flow structures, such as shock wave and highly compressible zones, the k–ω SST turbulence model has inherent limitations in describing supersonic flows. A multi-physics improvement strategy is proposed to improve the prediction accuracy of the k–ω SST model for supersonic flows. This strategy leverages shock/turbulent boundary layer and shock/compressibility functions to accurately recognize areas with significant structures, enabling targeted improvement of the turbulence model. Five supersonic flow cases are tested and analyzed, and the results show that while the single-physics turbulence model can improve the prediction accuracy of flows with a single flow structure corresponding to the correction, its prediction ability is insufficient in other flows with different flow structures. In contrast, the multi-physics turbulence model exhibits good ability in flows with multiple flow structures, while also maintaining the performance of the single-physics turbulence model. The multi-physics turbulence model has higher accuracy and stronger universality, making it advantageous for modeling complex supersonic flows.