Adaptive Large Eddy Simulation Research Articles

On the spatio-temporal dynamics of cavitating turbulent shear flow over a microscale backward-facing step: A numerical study

The influence of cavitation on the mean characteristics and unsteady behavior of turbulent separated flows was comprehensively investigated in this study over a microscale backward-facing configuration at the Reynolds number (ReD) of 7440. The computational approach took both compressibility and finite mass transfer (Thermodynamic non-equilibrium) into account, to accurately capture the effects of shock waves, as well as to capture baroclinic phenomena on vortex dynamics within the turbulent separated flow. The compressibility effects were handled by using appropriate equation of states for each phase and for the mixture. Phase-change was considered through a transport equation for the vapor volume fraction, allowing for finite mass transfer contributions. Additionally, a wall adaptive large eddy simulation (LES) approach was utilized for simulating turbulent structures and their effects. The findings reveal that vapor development diminishes the mean growth rate of the shear layer and delays its reattachment to a longer distance from the step. Moreover, analysis of Reynolds normal and shear stresses, as well as the root mean square (RMS) of pressure fluctuations, demonstrates that the formation and collapse of vapor packets significantly influence turbulence decay and production in the second half of the shear layer and reattachment. It was also observed that both mean pressure and pressure fluctuations increased in vicinity of the reattachment region when cavitation was present, which was attributed to the condensation and collapse events. Spectral analysis further indicates the emergence of two dominant low frequency modes, linked to the displacement of the reattachment point. In the presence of cavitation, the frequencies associated with dominant Power Spectral Densities (PSDs) were smaller than those in the absence of cavitation. Additionally, each of these low frequencies corresponded to a specific vapor transport mechanism within the Turbulent Separation Bubble (TSB). Furthermore, it is shown that cavitation leads to a significantly higher spectral energy of high frequency fluctuations within the reattachment region in comparison to the condition where cavitation is absent. This can be attributed to the frequent collapse of bubbles in this region. At the end, we employed Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (SPOD) for modal analysis. This method offers valuable insights into the coherent structures and associated frequencies that arise in both the presence and absence of cavitation, which provides a deeper understanding of the effect of cavitation on the coherent structures and their dynamics.

Improved numerical predictions of inclined negatively buoyant jet behaviour

The results of numerical simulations of inclined negatively buoyant jets are presented. These simulations address previously highlighted difficulties in capturing sufficient detail of critical flow processes to effectively predict the detailed flow behaviour. In particular, the new simulations are able to accurately capture the details of the buoyancy-induced instabilities, which are clearly evident in associated experimental investigations and that have significant impacts on the flow behaviour. This new information is captured for inclined negatively buoyant jets discharged at 45° above a horizontal reference plane. A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach is implemented that makes use of a Lagrangian Dynamic Sub-grid scale (SGS) model and a novel criterion for the adaptive meshing system. Comparisons with previously published simulation results and experimental data demonstrate that these new Adaptive LES simulations provide improved predictions of flow path, concentration and velocity fields, and associated mean and turbulent statistics. In addition, this study provides a set of methods for generating high-quality LES data sets for free shear flows, which are well beyond the level of detail that can be captured by current experimental systems.

A comparison of three error indicators for adaptive high-order large eddy simulation

We use a discontinuous high-order method to evaluate three error indicators, specifically designed for mesh adaptation in large eddy simulation (LES). The indicators are based on specific physical and numerical arguments. The first indicator is based on the unsteady residual. The second indicator is based on a local smoothness indicator. The third indicator is based on an estimate for small scale turbulent kinetic energy. We test the three error indicators at driving autonomous mesh refinement on implicit LES, evaluating the error indicators on two widely used benchmark simulations of the T106 LP turbine cascade. We compare the adaptively meshed simulations against direct numerical simulation (DNS) results to judge their effectiveness at reducing solution error in LES.

Wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation of supersonic channel flow with different thermal boundary conditions

This work investigates the effect of different thermal wall boundary conditions on the wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation of supersonic turbulent channel flow. The compressible flow governing equations are expressed in terms of wavelet-based Favre-filtered variables and are supplied with the anisotropic minimum dissipation closure model. Various computations are performed, where the resolved temperature field is constrained by either Dirichlet (isothermal) or Neumann (adiabatic) boundary conditions at the walls. The turbulence diagnostics include mean flow features and turbulent fluctuations statistics. The successful comparison with reference direct numerical simulations demonstrates the validity and the efficiency of the wavelet-based adaptive approach for wall-bounded turbulent compressible flow, regardless of the thermal boundary conditions that are imposed.

Localized dynamic kinetic-energy model for compressible wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation

Wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation uses wavelet filtering to separate resolved from residual (more from less energetic) turbulent eddies, overcoming limitations of traditional lowpass filter-based methods that are not able to investigate the multi-resolution features and intermittency of turbulence. This is further developed by introducing a novel localized dynamic kinetic-energy-based model for wall-bounded turbulent compressible flows. Application to supersonic channel flow demonstrates the efficiency and accuracy of the method that is characterized by a high dynamic spatial-temporal adaptation, paving the way for modeling and simulation of complex engineering turbulent flows.

A new wake detection methodology to capture wind turbine wakes using adaptive mesh refinement and Large Eddy Simulation

The development of turbulent vortical wakes released downstream of wind turbines is crucial as it presents many technological implications for wind farm design and exploitation. The numerical prediction of these wakes constitutes a challenging problem as they involve the shedding of fine vortical structures, their instabilities, and interactions with a turbulent ambient flow. A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach allows capturing such flow phenomena, which implies a suitable mesh. Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) is used to refine the mesh in the wind turbine wake to limit the computational cost. A methodology is developed to define and capture the wake envelope adequately. Three main parts of this methodology can be identified: The wind turbine wake detection, the target cell size required and adaptation frequency. The target cell size needed to properly capture the wind turbine wake is investigated in previous work [1], while this paper focuses on wind turbine wake detection. A strategy based on a progress variable with a source term in the rotor region is used to capture the wake. This variable is transported by the flow and thus defines the wake envelope. AMR is used to refine the mesh within this region. To validate the method, a comparison between an adaptive mesh case and a reference mesh case has been performed on a single rotor and a two aligned rotor configuration. For both, the wind turbine wake tracking method is effective. The progress variable is transported correctly and leads to a well-defined wake area. The mesh is refined adequately within it. The physical comparison between cases showed similar results, while the performance comparison showed a computational cost reduction of 30% in the single turbine configuration and 50% in the two turbines configuration. Therefore, our methodology coupled with adaptive mesh refinement can adequately capture wind turbine wake, define an accurate wake envelope and decrease the computational cost for the same physical precision.

Wavelet-based adaptive wall-modeled large eddy simulation method for compressible turbulent flows

We develop a wavelet-based adaptive wall-modeled large eddy simulation (WA-WMLES) method to overcome the stringent restriction on step size for time integration, caused by mesh resolution requirement to resolve inner viscous sublayer, which becomes computationally expensive as the Reynolds number increases. This approach uses a wavelet-based adaptive large eddy simulation, incorporated into the anisotropic-adaptive wavelet collocation framework, to resolve the outer region of turbulent boundary layer, while the inner part is approximated by the wall-shear-stress model, and extends the application of the wavelet-based adaptive methods to a realistic wall-bounded turbulent flow configuration at a relatively high (order of a million) Reynolds number.

Wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation of supersonic channel flow

Abstract

Turbulent Flows and Pollution Dispersion around Tall Buildings Using Adaptive Large Eddy Simulation (LES)

The motivation for this work stems from the increased number of high-rise buildings/skyscrapers all over the world, and in London, UK, and hence the necessity to see their effect on the local environment. We concentrate on the mean velocities, Reynolds stresses, turbulent kinetic energies (TKEs) and tracer concentrations. We look at their variations with height at two main locations within the building area, and downstream the buildings. The pollution source is placed at the top of the central building, representing an emission from a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant. We see how a tall building may have a positive effect at the lower levels, but a negative one at the higher levels in terms of pollution levels. Mean velocities at the higher levels (over 60 m in real life) are reduced at both locations (within the building area and downstream it), whilst Reynolds stresses and TKEs increase. However, despite the observed enhanced turbulence at the higher levels, mean concentrations increase, indicating that the mean flow has a greater influence on the dispersion. At the lower levels (Z < 60 m), the presence of a tall building enhanced dispersion (hence lower concentrations) for many of the configurations.

Wavelet-based adaptive delayed detached eddy simulations for wall-bounded compressible turbulent flows

A novel wavelet-based adaptive delayed detached eddy simulation (W-DDES) approach for simulations of wall-bounded compressible turbulent flows is proposed. The new approach utilizes anisotropic wavelet-based mesh refinement and its effectiveness is demonstrated for flow simulations using the Spalart–Allmaras DDES model. A variable wavelet thresholding strategy blending two distinct thresholds for the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) regimes is used. A novel mesh adaptation on mean and fluctuating quantities with different wavelet threshold levels is proposed. The new strategy is more accurate and efficient compared to the adaptation on instantaneous quantities using a priori defined uniform thresholds. The effectiveness of the W-DDES method is demonstrated by comparing the results of the W-DDES simulations with results already available in the literature. Supersonic plane channel flow for two different configurations is tested as benchmark wall-bounded flows. Both the accuracy indicated by the threshold and efficiency in terms of degrees of freedom for the novel adaptation strategy are successfully gained compared with the wavelet-based adaptive LES method. Moreover, the newly proposed W-DDES resolves the typical log-layer match issue encountered in the conventional non-adaptive DDES method mainly due to the use of wavelet-based adaptive mesh refinement. The W-DDES capability for simulations of complex turbulent flows is validated by two other flow configurations – a subsonic channel flow with periodic hill constrictions and a supersonic flow over a compression ramp inducing the shock wave–turbulent boundary layer interaction. The current study serves as a crucial step towards construction of a unified wavelet-based adaptive hierarchical RANS/LES modelling framework, capable of performing simulations of varying fidelities from no-modelling direct numerical simulations to full-modelling RANS simulations.

Adaptive mesh refinement method-based large eddy simulation for the flow over circular cylinder at ReD = 3900

With the development of computational power, large eddy simulation (LES) method is increasingly used in simulating complex flow. However, there still exist many factors affecting the LES quality and appropriate mesh resolution is among one of them. This work aims to develop an automatic procedure to refine the LES mesh by combining adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) and LES quality criteria. An LES refinement criterion is developed by estimating the proper grid length scale which meets the accuracy requirement of LES method. With this criterion, the baseline mesh is automatically refined with the AMR method. In this work, an efficient one-shot refinement strategy is also proposed to reduce the overall simulation time. Current AMR-based LES method is verified with the typical LES test case about the flow past circular cylinder at ReD = 3900. Results show that the automatically refined mesh provides systematically better agreement with experimental results and with current method the balance between accuracy and computational expense for LES can be obtained.

Wall-resolved wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation of bluff-body flows with variable thresholding

The wavelet-based eddy-capturing approach with variable thresholding is extended to bluff-body flows, where the obstacle geometry is enforced through Brinkman volume penalization. The use of a spatio-temporally varying threshold allows one to perform adaptive large-eddy simulations with the prescribed fidelity on a near optimal computational mesh. The space–time evolution of the threshold variable is achieved by solving a transport equation based on the Lagrangian path-line diffusive averaging methodology. The coupled wavelet-collocation/volume-penalization approach with variable thresholding is illustrated for a turbulent incompressible flow around an isolated stationary prism with square cross-section. Wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulations supplied with the one-equation localized dynamic kinetic energy-based model are successfully performed at moderately high Reynolds number. The present study demonstrates that the proposed variable thresholding methodology for wavelet-based modelling of turbulent flows around solid obstacles is feasible, accurate and efficient.

Adaptive large eddy simulation

Several a posteriori indicators in the framework of local grid adaptation and large eddy simulation (LES) are evaluated. In LES indicators must be capable to bound not only the discretisation error, but also the modeling error. Moreover, the numerical method must be able to adapt the computational grid dynamically, as the regions requiring different resolution are not static. The performance of different indicators is evaluated in two flow configurations. It turns out that the classic residual based error indicator and the newly introduced heuristic indicator perform best.

Wavelet-based adaptive simulations of three-dimensional flow past a square cylinder

AbstractThe wavelet-based eddy capturing approach is extended to three-dimensional bluff body flows, where the flow geometry is enforced through Brinkman volume penalization. The wavelet-collocation/volume-penalization combined method is applied to the simulation of vortex shedding flow behind an isolated stationary prism with square cross-section. Wavelet-based direct numerical simulation is conducted at low supercritical Reynolds number, where the wake develops fundamental three-dimensional flow structures, while wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation supplied with the one-equation localized dynamic kinetic-energy-based model is performed at moderately high Reynolds number. The present results are in general agreement with experimental findings and numerical solutions provided by classical non-adaptive methods. This study demonstrates that the proposed hybrid methodology for modelling bluff body flows is feasible, accurate and efficient.

Reynolds number scaling of coherent vortex simulation and stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation

In view of the ongoing longtime pursuit of numerical approaches that can capture important flow physics of high Reynolds number flows with fewest degrees of freedom, two important wavelet-based multi-resolution schemes are thoroughly examined, namely, the Coherent Vortex Simulation (CVS) and the Stochastic Coherent Adaptive Large Eddy Simulation (SCALES) with constant and spatially/temporarily variable thresholding. Reynolds number scaling of active spatial modes for CVS and SCALES of linearly forced homogeneous turbulence at high Reynolds numbers is investigated in dynamic study for the first time. This dynamic computational complexity study demonstrates that wavelet-based methods can capture flow-physics while using substantially fewer degrees of freedom than both direct numerical simulation and marginally resolved LES with the same level of fidelity or turbulence resolution, defined as ratio of subgrid scale and the total dissipations. The study provides four important observations: (1) the linear Reynolds number scaling of energy containing structures at a fixed level of kinetic energy, (2) small, close to unity, fractal dimension for constant-threshold CVS and SCALES simulations, (3) constant, close to two, fractal dimension for constant-dissipation SCALES that is insensitive to the level of fidelity, and (4) faster than quadratic decay of the compression ratio as a function of turbulence resolution. The very promising slope for Reynolds number scaling of CVS and SCALES demonstrates the potential of the wavelet-based methodologies for hierarchical multiscale space/time adaptive variable fidelity simulations of high Reynolds number turbulent flows.

Wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation with explicit filtering

Stochastic coherent adaptive large-eddy simulation is a novel approach to the numerical simulation of turbulence, where the coherent energetic eddies are solved for, while modeling the influence of the less energetic coherent/incoherent background flow. The formal separation between resolved and unresolved field is obtained by wavelet threshold filtering that is inherent to the adaptive wavelet collocation numerical method. A new explicit wavelet filtering strategy is introduced and tested, by considering two different filtering levels: the physical level, which controls the turbulence model, and the numerical level that is responsible for the accuracy of numerical simulations. The theoretical basis for wavelet-based adaptive large-eddy simulation with explicit filtering and consistent dynamic modeling is given. Numerical experiments are presented for unsteady homogeneous turbulence, demonstrating the existence of grid-independent solutions.

Adaptive large eddy simulation with moving grids

The paper presents adaptive mesh moving methods for large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flows. With this approach, a given number of grid points is redistributed with respect to an appropriately selected criterion. The Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation is applied to solve the governing equation on moving grids employing a collocated finite volume formulation. A dynamic moving mesh partial differential equation based on a variational principle is solved for the corner points of the grid by means of a dedicated solver. Adaptation is performed in a statistical sense so that statistical quantities of interest are employed. Various LES-specific design criteria and combination of them are proposed, such as the time-averaged gradient of streamwise velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and production rate. These are investigated in the framework of elementary and balanced monitor functions. These are tested for the three-dimensional flow in a channel with periodic constrictions. The numerical results are compared to a highly resolved LES reference solution. The independence of the moving mesh method from the initial LES is shown, and its potential to improve the efficient resolution of turbulent flow features is demonstrated.

Stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation of forced isotropic turbulence

The stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation (SCALES) methodology is a novel approach to the numerical simulation of turbulence, where a dynamic grid adaptation strategy based on wavelet threshold filtering is utilized to solve for the most ‘energetic’ eddies. The effect of the less energetic unresolved motions is simulated by a model. Previous studies have demonstrated excellent predictive properties of the SCALES approach for decaying homogeneous turbulence. In this paper the applicability of the method is further explored for statistically steady turbulent flows by considering linearly forced homogeneous turbulence at moderate Reynolds number. A local dynamic subgrid-scale eddy viscosity model based on the definition of the kinetic energy associated with the unresolved motions is used as closure model. The governing equations for the wavelet filtered velocity field, along with the additional evolution equation for the subgrid-scale kinetic energy, are numerically solved by means of a dynamically adaptive wavelet collocation method. It is demonstrated that adaptive simulations closely match results from a reference pseudo-spectral fully de-aliased direct numerical simulation, by using only about 1% of the corresponding computational nodes. In contrast to classical non-adaptive large eddy simulation, the agreement with direct solution holds for the mean flow statistics as well as in terms of energy and enstrophy spectra up to the dissipative wavenumbers range.

Localized dynamic kinetic-energy-based models for stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation

Stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation (SCALES) is an extension of the large eddy simulation approach in which a wavelet filter-based dynamic grid adaptation strategy is employed to solve for the most “energetic” coherent structures in a turbulent field while modeling the effect of the less energetic background flow. In order to take full advantage of the ability of the method in simulating complex flows, the use of localized subgrid-scale models is required. In this paper, new local dynamic one-equation subgrid-scale models based on both eddy-viscosity and non-eddy-viscosity assumptions are proposed for SCALES. The models involve the definition of an additional field variable that represents the kinetic energy associated with the unresolved motions. This way, the energy transfer between resolved and residual flow structures is explicitly taken into account by the modeling procedure without an equilibrium assumption, as in the classical Smagorinsky approach. The wavelet-filtered incompressible Navier–Stokes equations for the velocity field, along with the additional evolution equation for the subgrid-scale kinetic energy variable, are numerically solved by means of the dynamically adaptive wavelet collocation solver. The proposed models are tested for freely decaying homogeneous turbulence at Reλ=72. It is shown that the SCALES results, obtained with less than 0.5% of the total nonadaptive computational nodes, closely match reference data from direct numerical simulation. In contrast to classical large eddy simulation, where the energetic small scales are poorly simulated, the agreement holds not only in terms of global statistical quantities but also in terms of spectral distribution of energy and, more importantly, enstrophy all the way down to the dissipative scales.

Lagrangian dynamic SGS model for stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation

Stochastic coherent adaptive large eddy simulation (SCALES) is an extension of large eddy simulation that uses a wavelet filter-based dynamic grid adaptation strategy to solve for the most energetic coherent structures in a turbulent flow field, while modeling the effect of the less energetic ones. A localized dynamic subgrid scale model is needed to fully exploit the ability of the method to track coherent structures. In this paper, new local Lagrangian models based on a modified Germano dynamic procedure, redefined in terms of wavelet thresholding filters, are proposed. These models extend the original path-line formulation of Meneveau et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 319 (1996)] in two ways: as Lagrangian path-line diffusive and Lagrangian path-tube averaging procedures. The proposed models are tested for freely decaying homogeneous turbulence with initial Re λ = 72. It is shown that the SCALES results, obtained with less than 0.4% of the total non-adaptive nodes required for a DNS with the same wavelet solver, closely match reference DNS data. In contrast to classical LES, this agreement holds not only for large scale global statistical quantities, but also for energy and, more importantly, enstrophy spectra up to the dissipative wavenumber range.