One-dimensionial simulation of hydrodynamic turbulence

Alan R. Kerstein, Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore

One computational strategy for capturing micro-scale processes not affordably resolved in multi-dimensional turbulence simulations is to represent these processes by a lower-dimensional formulation. An approach formulated in one spatial dimension, denoted One-Dimensional Turbulence (ODT), is outlined. ODT combines two 1D approaches that have individually proven successful: stochastic iterated maps and reduction of the governing equations using the boundary-layer approximation. Within ODT, sub-processes based on these two approaches are coupled so as to represent both turbulent cascade dynamics and micro-physics at dissipative scales, with strong two-way interaction. Model performance is illustrated by applications to representative shear-driven and buoyancy-driven turbulent flows, with emphasis on micro-scale couplings. Progress on implementation of ODT as a sub-grid closure for 3D flow simulation is outlined. The modeling approach and the results obtained provide a novel perspective on the mixing-length concept, which is the basis of many turbulence models.

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