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#1 |
New Member
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 3
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Hi everybody,
I am a beginner in CFD and have a question about turbulence models in general. As far as I know, I only have to switch on a turbulence model if I expect turbulence in my calculation. Indicator for this is the Reynolds number. But where do I calculate it? As the velocity and the diameter change over a model, the Reynolds number changes as well. Let’s imagine a vortex flow separator with one inlet and two outlets. Do I simply calculate the number at the inlet (where I know the velocity as a boundary condition) and if I have turbulence there I must include a turbulence model? And what happens if my flow at the inlet is laminar, but in the separator turbulence could possibly appear, but I cannot calculate the Reynolds number as I don’t know the velocity in the separator before running the numerical calculation (for which I must know if I need a turbulence model)? And do I need a turbulence model if anywhere in my separator turbulence plays a role? You see, a lot of basic questions that hinder me to progress with my solution. I am happy for any explanation. Thanks in advance! Scaty |
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#2 |
New Member
Jeffrey Johnston
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Posts: 21
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Hello Scaty,
I'm certainly no expert, but here's a few thoughts. (I also can't comment on vortex flow separators specifically since I don't know what they are ![]()
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#3 | |
Senior Member
Lucky
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Orlando, FL USA
Posts: 5,728
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Quote:
Sorry but this is akin to saying that the most common fluids are air and water when the universe is mostly composed of hydrogen gas, a much lesser amont of helium gas, and some other rarely occurring elements. If you ask an astrophysicist, they'll tell you that most flows in the universe are inviscid. |
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#4 | |
New Member
Jeffrey Johnston
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Posts: 21
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Quote:
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#5 | ||
New Member
Jeffrey Johnston
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
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Quote:
"Inviscid" does NOT mean laminar. Inviscid flow means the viscous forces are negligible compared to inertial (and other) forces. This is actually a definition of turbulent flow! Of course, it is possible to have inviscid flow that is not turbulent in certain circumstances. This is called potential flow (I think). I'm not an astrophysicist, so I can't comment on whether the potential flow equations are useful in those scenarios. I do know that potential flow can be used in (for example) bulk flow calculations of flow around bodies , but this needs to be combined with turbulent boundary layer theory at the surface of the body. Here's a quote I found in Tennekes and Lumley, A First Course in Turbulence (1972) p. 1: Quote:
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#6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 357
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Referring back to the original question, unless you are writing your own solver then you are going to be limited in what you can actually do. If the turbulence model you are using includes a tripping function the you can try to rely on this to get turbulence started in the flow field correctly - but most turbulence tripping functions are not very reliable for general problems since they are typically tuned for a particular set of conditions. If you have a solver that includes a transition model then you may have more luck in capturing mixed flow behavior (laminar/turbulent in the same flow field). In the old days the basic rule of thumb was that if most of the flowfield was turbulent then run the problem as turbulent, since there were few ways to accurately determine transition.
You can always try running your problem fully turbulent and then fully laminar to see what differences there are. Compute your Reynolds number based on the relevant physical length scale for your problem. It sounds like for your problem that is either going to be the inlet diameter or perhaps something to do with the vortex separator geometry. If you don't know the velocity at the inlet how are you going to set your boundary and initial conditions? |
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#7 |
Senior Member
Filippo Maria Denaro
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,830
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One of the misunderstanding is about the direct link of turbulence and a certain Reynolds number.
The very simple case of the flow over a flat plate show you have not a unique value of the Re number. Turbulence develops after a certain position is reached. Consequently, one can generally think about different cases, a fully developed turbulence (that is since from the inflow) or a developing flow where turbulence is generated by something to be described in the computationbal domain. The formulations used to solve such problems are different, not in the turbulence model but in the proper equations (and variables) to solve. In any case, the Re number depends on the scales you are referring. |
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#8 | |
Senior Member
Filippo Maria Denaro
Join Date: Jul 2010
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Quote:
Turbulence in inviscid flows is indeed studied. It is more a theoretical framework to study the behavior of some solutions and the inviscid energy transfer. |
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#9 |
New Member
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 3
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Thanks everybody for your answers!
I got it solved to a reasonable level of precision. |
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Tags |
inlet, model, reynolds, turbulence |
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