Application of Quasi-Gas Dynamic Equations to Numerical Simulation of Near-Wall Turbulent Flows

Abstract

We describe the possibilities of a numerical method based on quasi-gas dynamic (QGD) equations for the numerical simulation of a turbulent boundary layer. A subsonic Couette flow in nitrogen is used as an example, with dynamic Reynolds numbers of 153 and 198. The QGD system differs from the system of Navier–Stokes equations by additional nonlinear dissipative terms with a small parameter as a coefficient. In turbulent flow simulation, these terms describe small-scale effects that are not resolved on the grid. Comparison of our results (velocity profiles and mean-square velocity pulsations) with direct numerical simulation (DNS) results and benchmark experiments show that the QGD algorithm adequately describes the viscous and the logarithmic layers near the wall. Compared with high-accuracy DNS methods, the QGD algorithm permits using a relatively large spatial grid increment in the interior part of the viscous sublayer. Thus, the total number of grid points in the turbulent boundary layer may be relatively small. Unlike various versions of the large-eddy simulation (LES) method, the QGD algorithm does not require introduction of near-wall functions, because the additional terms vanish near the wall. For small Reynolds numbers, the QGD algorithm describes laminar Couette flow.