Analysis of Turbulent Natural and Mixed Convection Flows Using the v2–f Model

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to investigate the performance of the v2–f model for the predictions of turbulent natural and mixed convection flows. For this purpose, a finite volume-based flow solver is developed for a collocated grid arrangement, and the v2–f model is implemented for turbulence modeling. For natural convection flows, a tall cavity with the aspect ratio of 28.68 is selected as a test case. Mixed convection in a square cavity, ascending flow in a vertical pipe with constant wall flux, and fully developed mixed convection in a vertical channel are considered as test cases for buoyancy-driven mixed convection flows. To evaluate the performance of the v2–f model, results obtained from the present study have been compared with the existing data of experimental studies or direct numerical simulations (DNS). Results obtained from two-equation models, viz., the RNG k-ε, realizable k-ε, and SST k-ω models are also presented for comparison. Overall, the v2–f model predicts flow and heat transfer characteristics of natural and mixed convection flows satisfactorily.