Differential Equation-Based Specification of Turbulence Integral Length Scales for Cavity Flows

A new modeling approach has been developed that explicitly accounts for expected turbulent eddy length scales in cavity zones. It uses a hybrid approach with Poisson and Hamilton–Jacobi differential equations. These are used to set turbulent length scales to sensible expected values. For complex rim-seal and shroud cavity designs, the method sets an expected length scale based on local cavity width which accurately accounts for the large-scale wakelike flow structures that have been observed in these zones. The method is used to generate length scale fields for three complex rim-seal geometries. Good convergence properties are found, and a smooth transition of length scale between zones is observed. The approach is integrated with the popular Menter shear stress transport (SST) Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence model and reduces to the standard Menter model in the mainstream flow. For validation of the model, a transonic deep cavity simulation is performed. Overall, the Poisson–Hamilton–Jacobi model shows significant quantitative and qualitative improvement over the standard Menter and k–ε two-equation turbulence models. In some instances, it is comparable or more accurate than high-fidelity large eddy simulation (LES). In its current development, the approach has been extended through the use of an initial stage of length scale estimation using a Poisson equation. This essentially reduces the need for user objectivity. A key aspect of the approach is that the length scale is automatically set by the model. Notably, the current method is readily implementable in an unstructured, parallel processing computational framework.