I-Corps: Turbulent Stress Model in Support of Computational Fluid Dynamics

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project on the use of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software for turbulent flows may be transformational. Turbulent flows occur ubiquitously; and, CFD methods are routinely used to assess flow assurance and safety issues associated with industrial scale flows. Although computer hardware and software technologies have advanced significantly, current closure models for the turbulent stress seriously limit the commercial value of CFD methods. Recent research related to the turbulent stress closure problem provides an opportunity to improve the performance of CFD software used to design next generation chemical and nuclear reactors, aircraft engines, automotive engines, and wind turbines for power generation. The proposed innovation will also support prototype designs of hydrocyclone separators as well as prototype designs for next generation industrial mixers. This I-Corps project offers a software solution to a longstanding problem related to turbulence. Although the turbulent stress closure problem has been a core issue of research for more than a century, a fully-realizable closure model is not presently supported by any commercial software package. This project will address this need by providing complementary software that implements a new class of fully-realizable algebraic stress models consistent with the low-order statistical properties observed in rotating and non-rotating turbulent flows. Most significantly, the closure models are fully-realizable regardless of the benchmark flows selected to calibrate model parameters. This discovery will have a significant impact on the current use of computational fluid dynamic software for turbulent flows.