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The Best Turbulence Models for Engineers

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Modeling Complex Turbulent Flows

Part of the book series: ICASE/LaRC Interdisciplinary Series in Science and Engineering ((ICAS,volume 7))

Abstract

“The best turbulence model” is obviously the Navier-Stokes equations, which are almost universally accepted as an accurate description of turbulence in simple fluids. Solving them to obtain converged statistics (DNS) requires computer work proportional to the cube of the Reynolds number, approximately, so there will always be a limit to the attainable Reynolds number, At present this limit is of the order of the Reynolds number attained in small-scale laboratory experiments. Thus “The best turbulence model for aeronautical engineers” is — again obviously — not the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations. (DNS is and always will be a valuable research tool for developing and testing models based on simplifications of the NS equations: see Moin and Mahesh (1998).) The less-obvious point of this Abstract is that “best”, in the title, is a time-dependent word and that it is short for “most cost-effective”. This paper is a review of options, a brief history, and an assessment of current ideas and future possibilities. It seems likely that Reynolds-averaged models will continue to advance modestly, somewhat less likely that engineers will routinely use the highest-level models, and almost certain that large-eddy simulation will start to replace or assist Reynolds-averaged models in the next decade or so.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

    Peter Bradshaw

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  1. Peter Bradshaw
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Langley Research Center, Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering, Hampton, Virginia, USA

    Manuel D. Salas

  2. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA

    Jerry N. Hefner

  3. Bolling Air Force Base, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, DC, USA

    Leonidas Sakell

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Bradshaw, P. (1999). The Best Turbulence Models for Engineers. In: Salas, M.D., Hefner, J.N., Sakell, L. (eds) Modeling Complex Turbulent Flows. ICASE/LaRC Interdisciplinary Series in Science and Engineering, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4724-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4724-8_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5986-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4724-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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