On applying the extended intrinsic mean spin tensor to modelling the turbulence in non-inertial frames of reference

Abstract

Modelling the turbulent flows in non-inertial frames of reference has long been a challenging task. Recently we introduced the notion of the “extended intrinsic mean spin tensor” for turbulence modelling and pointed out that, when applying the Reynolds stress models developed in the inertial frame of reference to modelling the turbulence in a non-inertial frame of reference, the mean spin tensor should be replaced by the extended intrinsic mean spin tensor to correctly account for the rotation effects induced by the non-inertial frame of reference, to conform in physics with the Reynolds stress transport equation. To exemplify the approach, we conducted numerical simulations of the fully developed turbulent channel flow in a rotating frame of reference by employing four non-linear K-e models. Our numerical results based on this approach at a wide range of Reynolds and Rossby numbers evince that, among the models tested, the non-linear K-e model of Huang and Ma and the non-linear K-e model of Craft, Launder and Suga can better capture the rotation effects and the resulting influence on the structures of turbulence, and therefore are satisfactorily applied to dealing with the turbulent flows of practical interest in engineering. The general approach worked out in this paper is also applied to the second-moment closure and the large-eddy simulation of turbulence.