Large eddy simulation of subsonic and supersonic channel flow at moderate Reynolds number

Abstract

Large eddy simulation (LES) of compressible periodic channel flow is performed using a fourth-order finite difference scheme for a Reynolds number based on bulk density, bulk velocity and channel half-width equal to 3000. Two configurations are studied: a subsonic case (M0=0.5) that corresponds to the experiments of Niederschulte et al. [‘Measurements of turbulent flow in a channel at low Reynolds numbers’, Exp. Fluids, 9, 222–230 (1990)] and a supersonic case (M0=1.5) that corresponds to the direct numerical simulation (DNS) results by Coleman et al. [‘A numerical study of turbulent supersonic isothermal-wall channel flow’, J. Fluid Mech., 305, 159–183 (1995); ‘Compressible turbulent channel flows: DNS results and modeling’, J. Fluid Mech., 305, 185–218 (1995)]. In order to determine the influence of the discretization, two cases are computed using two different meshes, a coarse one and a fine one. Two subgrid-scale models are tested: the first one is an extension to compressible flows of the Smagorinsky model, while the second one is a model based both on large and small scales of turbulence, a hybrid Bardina–selective mixed scale model. Various statistical comparisons are made with experimental and DNS data at similar Reynolds numbers, including higher-order statistics. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.