A review on selection of turbulence model for CFD analysis of air flow within a cold storage

Abstract

Experimental analysis of flow Distribution inside a cold storage is a costly affair, thus many researchers are intensively using computational techniques. In designing of various air distributions arrangements in cold storage Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can play a vital role. There are various factors which affects the results produced through CFD analysis of air circulation in close environment like cold storage. Selection of the specific turbulence model for particular flow condition is a big bottle-neck. This paper discussed CFD approaches and various turbulence models used in cold storage air flow evaluation. Selection of turbulence model affects the analysis as each model use different set of boundary conditions. It has been observed that most of the researchers adopt RANS K-ℇ model because of its simplicity and ease of understanding. While on an average there is 26% error in results produced through RANS turbulence models and LES model provide good results but lots of skills and higher computational capacity required.