The Oriented-Eddy Collision Turbulence Model

• Published in: Flow, turbulence and combustion turbulence and combustion, 2012-09, Vol.89 (3), p.335-359
• Main Authors: Martell, Michael B., Perot, J. Blair
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automotive Engineering; Engineering; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Engineering Thermodynamics; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid dynamics; Fluid- and Aerodynamics; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Heat and Mass Transfer; Physics; Turbulence simulation and modeling; Turbulent flows, convection, and heat transfer
• ISSN: 1386-6184; 1573-1987
• DOI: 10.1007/s10494-012-9395-y

The Oriented-Eddy Collision (OEC) model treats turbulent flow as a non-Newtonian fluid where the average behavior of turbulence is modeled as a collection of interacting fluid particles which have inherent orientation. The model is derived from the two-point velocity correlation transport equation, and has the form of a collection of Reynolds-stress transport equations, with one set of transport equations for each representative eddy direction. The addition of eddy orientation information adds important physics to the model and allows the model to represent structural (two-point) information about the turbulence. This structural information is sufficient to allow the model to capture the effect of external forces and imposed mean strains (such as rapid distortion theory) exactly. The only physical effects that must be empirically modeled are those that are due to turbulence-turbulence interactions, referred to as eddy collisions. The performance of the model in a number of canonical flow situations is presented.