Probability Density Function Method For Variable Density Pressure Gradient Driven Turbulence And Mixing

Probability density function (PDF) methods are extended to variable-density pressure-gradient-driven turbulence. We apply the new method to compute the joint PDF of density and velocity in a non-premixed binary mixture of different-density molecularly mixing fluids under gravity. The full time-evolution of the joint PDF is captured in the highly non-equilibrium flow: starting from a quiescent state, transitioning to fully developed turbulence and finally dissipated by molecular diffusion. High-Atwood-number effects (as distinguished from the Boussinesq case) are accounted for: both hydrodynamic turbulence and material mixing are treated at arbitrary density ratios, with the specific volume, mass flux and all their correlations in closed form. An extension of the generalized Langevin model, originally developed for the Lagrangian fluid particle velocity in constant-density shear-driven turbulence, is constructed for variable-density pressure-gradient-driven flows. The persistent small-scale anisotropy, a fundamentally 'non-Kolmogorovian' feature of flows under external acceleration forces, is captured by a tensorial diffusion term based on the external body force. The material mixing model for the fluid density, an active scalar, is developed based on the beta distribution. The beta-PDF is shown to be capable of capturing the mixing asymmetry and that it can accurately represent the density through transition, in fully developed turbulence and in the decay process. The joint model for hydrodynamics and active material mixing yields a time-accurate evolution of the turbulent kinetic energy and Reynolds stress anisotropy without resorting to gradient diffusion hypotheses, and represents the mixing state by the density PDF itself, eliminating the need for dubious mixing measures. Direct numerical simulations of the homogeneous Rayleigh-Taylor instability are used for model validation.

This book gives a mathematical insight--including intermediate derivation steps--into engineering physics and turbulence modeling related to an anisotropic modification to the Boussinesq hypothesis (deformation theory) coupled with the similarity theory of velocity fluctuations. Through mathematical derivations and their explanations, the reader will be able to understand new theoretical concepts quickly, including how to put a new hypothesis on the anisotropic Reynolds stress tensor into engineering practice. The anisotropic modification to the eddy viscosity hypothesis is in the center of research interest, however, the unification of the deformation theory and the anisotropic similarity theory of turbulent velocity fluctuations is still missing from the literature. This book brings a mathematically challenging subject closer to graduate students and researchers who are developing the next generation of anisotropic turbulence models. Indispensable for graduate students, researchers and scientists in fluid mechanics and mechanical engineering.

Constructs and implements turbulence models for probability density function (PDF) methods for the computation of turbulent reacting flows. Treats the processes of convection and reaction without further assumptions at this level of closure, while the effects of the fluctuation pressure gradient and the diffusion of the fluctuating velocity by molecular viscosity require modeling. Effects correspond to the pressure-rate-of-strain correlations, the pressure transport, and the dissipation tensor in the Reynolds stress equation. Investigates models for each of these variables.

This document describes a theoretical modeling of turbulent mixing at density discontinuities in nonsteady compressible flows. It is shown that when density and pressure gradients are large and have opposite signs (e.g., near the combustion products/air contact surface in blast waves driven by high-explosive sources), flow perturbations will be amplified, leading to local turbulent mixing. The applicability of using a turbulence model to simulate this process is examined. The conservation laws (for mass, momentum, energy and species) are presented in mass-averaged form, the k-epsilon model of turbulence is applied. The relevant term for the generation of turbulent kinetic energy, the term of dominant importance in this problem, is derived by two independent approaches. This generation term is driven by gradients of pressure and density normal to the interface between the high-explosive products of combustion and the shocked air, and not by shear. The present work is thought to represent the first description of a turbulence model for flows driven by such normal gradients. (Author).

Buoyancy is one of the main forces driving flows on our planet, especially in the oceans and atmosphere. These flows range from buoyant coastal currents to dense overflows in the ocean, and from avalanches to volcanic pyroclastic flows on the Earth's surface. This book brings together contributions by leading world scientists to summarize our present theoretical, observational, experimental and modeling understanding of buoyancy-driven flows. Buoyancy-driven currents play a key role in the global ocean circulation and in climate variability through their impact on deep-water formation. Buoyancy-driven currents are also primarily responsible for the redistribution of fresh water throughout the world's oceans. This book is an invaluable resource for advanced students and researchers in oceanography, geophysical fluid dynamics, atmospheric science and the wider Earth sciences who need a state-of-the-art reference on buoyancy-driven flows.

Turbulent flows involving chemical reactions are a basic feature of many combustion and propulsion systems. The development of calculation procedures for turbulent reacting flows requires the understanding and modeling of the coupling between turbulence and combustion. Second-order closure modeling of turbulent flows provides a convenient framework for studying these interactions between turbulence and chemical reactions. Models for the scalar probability density function (pdf) have to be developed to achieve closure of turbulent transport equations for mixing and reacting flows. A delta function 'typical eddy' model has been developed for the joint pdf of the scalar variables. It has been demonstrated that delta functions are a necessary part of pdf's in order to attain the extremums of the statistical constraints on the moments. The statistical bounds on a number of moments of interest have been derived. It has been proven that a rational pdf composed of a set of delta functions alone can always be constructed at any point within the statistically valid moment space. The model provides a good representation of actual pdf's in two-species, variable-density mixing flows. The model has been directly compared to experimental pdf measurements and good agreement for higher-order moments has been demonstrated. It can be shown that the delta function pdf model is significantly simpler than other proposed pdf models and is more than adequate for the closure of the transport equations. (Author).