A numerical study of secondary flow and large eddies in a driven cavity

Abstract

This paper reports on the application of a newly developed LES flow solver to compute a true three-dimensional flow. The research also investigates the behavior of turbulence statistics by comparing transient simulation results to available data based on experiments and simulations. An extensive discussion on the results such as energy spectrum, velocity profiles and time trace of velocities is carried out in the research as well. Based on the results obtained, the application of the flow solver for a turbulent three-dimensional driven cavity flow by using three grids with varying densities is proven. In addition, the research successfully verifies that in many instances computational results agreed reasonably well with the reference data, and the changes in the statistical properties of turbulence with respect to time are closely related to the changes in the flow structure and strength of vortices. The focus of this study is on the prediction of a subgrid scale Reynolds shear stress profiles, and the results show that the standard model is able to reproduce general trends measured from experiments. Furthermore, in certain areas inside the cavity the computed shear stress values are in close agreement with experimental data.