Large-eddy simulation of turbulent channel flow using explicit filtering and dynamic mixed models

Abstract

Large-eddy simulations of turbulent channel flow at Re-tau = 395 are performed using explicit filtering. Two different subfilter-scale models, the dynamic Smagorinsky mixed model and the dynamic global-coefficient mixed model, are formulated in accordance with the explicitly filtered governing equations. The use of explicit filtering separates the filtering operation from discretization, thereby producing a grid-independent solution. In explicit-filter large-eddy simulations, both the dynamic Smagorinsky mixed and the dynamic global-coefficient mixed subfilter-scale models are found to produce solutions close to the non-filtered direct numerical simulation data when explicit-filter widths in the streamwise and spanwise directions and at the center of the channel in the wall normal direction are about four times the grid spacings for direct numerical simulation. Solutions obtained using explicit-filter large-eddy simulation are compared with solutions obtained using implicit-filter large-eddy simulation in a range of filter and grid resolution. Explicit-filter large-eddy simulations performed on gradually refined grids with a fixed set of explicit-filter widths are found to produce grid-converged solutions for both models. Similarly in implicit-filter large-eddy simulation, predictive capabilities of subfilter-scale models in explicit-filter large-eddy simulation are found to be interfered with truncation errors when the ratio of the explicit-filter width to the grid spacing is small. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4745007]