CAREER: Non-equilibrium wall-bounded turbulent flows at high Reynolds numbers

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

1453633 Larsson Even though the majority of flows in industry and in the environment are turbulent, significant gaps exist in our knowledge of their behavior, especially in non-canonical cases (i.e., cases where the flow is not at equilibrium). This is the white space that this CAREER proposal aims to cover -- to develop theory and models for the simulation of compressible, non-equilibrium turbulent flows with Large Eddy Simulations (LES). In addition to the scientific broader impact, educational activities are proposed that are focused on the development of a new classroom software tool that can be used to provide experiential learning to undergraduate and graduate students by offering visual answers to fluid dynamics questions. The software tool would be available to other educators. The goal of this proposal is to invent new LES models that can accurately simulate the behavior of non-equilibrium turbulent flows close to solid walls (these are known as wall models). This is a critical yet missing element from currently available computational techniques, and the solution to this problem would open up a whole new area of engineering flows that we would be able to predict. The PI proposes to obtain high fidelity simulation data using direct numerical simulations of representative flow cases and then utilize these data to both develop and validate his new models. Successful completion of this project would constitute a step change in our predictive capabilities for non-equilibrium turbulent flows close to solid walls.