LES validation of urban flow, part II: eddy statistics and flow structures

• Published in: Environmental fluid mechanics (Dordrecht, Netherlands : 2001) Netherlands : 2001), 2017-06, Vol.17 (3), p.551-578
• Main Authors: Hertwig, Denise, Patnaik, Gopal, Leitl, Bernd
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classical Mechanics; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer simulation; Data processing; Dispersion models; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Eddies; Ejection; Energy; Environmental Physics; Flow structures; Fluctuations; Flux; Hydrogeology; Hydrology/Water Resources; Large eddy simulation; Large eddy simulations; Mathematical models; Meteorology; Momentum; Momentum flux; Momentum transfer; Numerical simulations; Oceanic eddies; Oceanography; Original Article; Simulation; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Statistics; Three dimensional flow; Time dependence; Turbulence; Turbulent flow; Urban areas; Vortices; Wavelet analysis; Wind; Wind engineering; Wind fields; Wind tunnel testing; Wind tunnels
• ISSN: 1567-7419; 1573-1510
• DOI: 10.1007/s10652-016-9504-x

Time-dependent three-dimensional numerical simulations such as large-eddy simulation (LES) play an important role in fundamental research and practical applications in meteorology and wind engineering. Whether these simulations provide a sufficiently accurate picture of the time-dependent structure of the flow, however, is often not determined in enough detail. We propose an application-specific validation procedure for LES that focuses on the time dependent nature of mechanically induced shear-layer turbulence to derive information about strengths and limitations of the model. The validation procedure is tested for LES of turbulent flow in a complex city, for which reference data from wind-tunnel experiments are available. An initial comparison of mean flow statistics and frequency distributions was presented in part I. Part II focuses on comparing eddy statistics and flow structures. Analyses of integral time scales and auto-spectral energy densities show that the tested LES reproduces the temporal characteristics of energy-dominant and flux-carrying eddies accurately. Quadrant analysis of the vertical turbulent momentum flux reveals strong similarities between instantaneous ejection-sweep patterns in the LES and the laboratory flow, also showing comparable occurrence statistics of rare but strong flux events. A further comparison of wavelet-coefficient frequency distributions and associated high-order statistics reveals a strong agreement of location-dependent intermittency patterns induced by resolved eddies in the energy-production range. The validation concept enables wide-ranging conclusions to be drawn about the skill of turbulence-resolving simulations than the traditional approach of comparing only mean flow and turbulence statistics. Based on the accuracy levels determined, it can be stated that the tested LES is sufficiently accurate for its purpose of generating realistic urban wind fields that can be used to drive simpler dispersion models.