School of Mechanical Aerospace and Civil Engineering

TPFE MSc Advanced Turbulence Modelling

Introduction

One challenge in CFD is how to treat the thin near-wall sublayer, where viscous effects become important. In ows with heat transfer, an accurate resolution of this layer can be crucial because most of the temperature change occurs across it.

Wall Functions
T. J. Craft
George Begg Building, C41

The most reliable way is to use a ne grid and a low-Re-number model. This can be very expensive, particularly in 3-D.

Reading: S. Pope, Turbulent Flows D. Wilcox, Turbulence Modelling for CFD Closure Strategies for Turbulent and Transitional Flows, (Eds. B.E. Launder, N.D. Sandham) Notes: Blackboard and CFD/TM web server: http://cfd.mace.manchester.ac.uk/tmcfd - People - T. Craft - Online Teaching Material
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Slow convergence can also be a problem as a result of model source terms and high aspect ratio cells. The traditional industrial solution has been to use wall-functions.
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Last semester we briey looked at a method that allows one to dispense with a very ne near-wall grid. The idea is to place the rst computational node outside the viscous sublayer, and make suitable assumptions about how the near-wall velocity prole behaves, in order to obtain the wall shear stress. In the discretized momentum equation ap Up = ae Ue + aw Uw + an Un + as Us + Su (1) as arises from the shear stress at the south face of the cell (ie. the wall shear stress).
P yv x

Log-Law Based Wall Functions

In a local equilibrium boundary layer, where the lengthscale grows linearly with distance from the wall, we obtain the log law: U+ = 1 log(Ey + ) (2)

with U + = U/(w / )1/2 and y + = y (w / )1/2 / .

yn

This can be used to estimate the wall shear stress from the values of U and y + at the near-wall node P. Rearranging gives: Up 1 + = log(Eyp ) 1/2 (w / ) or

Up w / = + log(Eyp )

Since the near-wall sublayer is not resolved, estimating the velocity gradient from a linear variation of U, as is done at other faces, will not give an accurate approximation of the shear stress at the wall. If we obtain the wall shear stress from an assumed velocity prole, we can set as to zero and then add w (x ) directly into the source term.
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From uv = w / = t U/ y , the turbulent viscosity at node P can also be estimated:

t = (w / )/( U/ y ) = y (w / )1/2

This form thus returns zero turbulent viscosity when w vanishes (giving problems at reattachment or impingement points).
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An improved version of the log-law based wall function uses kv , the value of k at the edge of the viscous sublayer, for the velocity scale: U =
1/2

k and Wall Function Treatments

1 log(E y )
1/2

To obtain kp , the k transport equation is solved over the near-wall cell. However, Pk and can both be expected to vary quite drastically across the near-wall cell. Consequently, simply evaluating them at the cell centre in discretizing the k equation would lead to inaccurate approximations. Instead, suitable approximations can be made for the cell-averaged source and sink terms: Pk = 1 yn
yn 0

(3)

with U = Ukv /(w / ) and y = ykv / .

In principle, the value of kv is not dependent on the grid employed, since it is associated with the viscous sublayer thickness. However, kv is usually estimated by assuming that k is constant across the fully turbulent near-wall region, so that kv is the same as kp .
The values of yp and Up can then be used to calculate w from the log law of equation (3): Up k p w / = log(E yp )

Pk dy

1 yn

yn 0

dy

(4)

The turbulent viscosity at the near-wall node is now given by

and Pk and are used in discretizing the k equation.

t = (w / )/( U/ y ) = kp yp
1/2

so does not vanish when w = 0.

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Typically, diffusion of k to the wall is set to zero, and then Pk and used as source/sink terms in the discretization schemes already considered.
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Some simple approximations typically made to enable the above integrals to be evaluated are:

The cell-averaged generation and dissipation rates for k over the near-wall cell can then be evaluated as Pk = 1 yn =
yn yv

uv is zero in the viscous sublayer, but constant (equal to the wall shear stress) in the fully turbulent region. k is constant (equal to kp ) in the fully turbulent region, and falls to zero quadratically across the viscous sublayer. the lengthscale varies linearly in the 3/2 fully turbulent region, so = kp /(cl y ), whilst is taken as constant (equal to 2 its wall-limiting value of 2 kp /yv ) in the viscous sublayer.

uv

uv
2 w

1 U dy = y yn

yn yv

w 1/4 1/2 c kp y

dy

yv

c kp yn

1/4

1/2

log(yn /yv )
3/2 3/2

yv

2 kp 1 = yv 2 + yn yv

yn yv

kp dy cl y

kp 1 2kp + log(yn /yv ) = yn yv / cl

where yv is the edge of the viscous sublayer.

The sublayer thickness, yv , is obtained by assuming that it extends to a 1/2 xed non-dimensional distance, typically yv = yv kv / = 20. When solving the equation, the value of p is usually set as the boundary condition, with p obtained from a linear lengthscale variation:

yv

p = kp /(cl yp )
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3/2

(5)
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Wall Function Renements

Standard Wall Function Weaknesses

Wall functions such as that outlined are widely used in industrial CFD simulations (and available in most commercial codes). One weakness is the assumption that kv is equal to the nodal value kp . Chieng & Launder (1980) proposed a formulation accounting for variations of k across the near-wall cell, extrapolating from kp and kN to nd kv and yv .
k

Although the above schemes are widely used, they have a number of weaknesses when applied to complex ows. As an example, results are shown from a workshop on abrupt pipe expansion heat transfer:

kv

yv

Johnson & Launder (1982) also tried to make the non-dimensional viscous sublayer thickness, yv , a function of local ow conditions. The same approach to obtaining Pk and can still be used but the algebraic expressions become somewhat more complex. However, the above renements have not been widely used. In certain cases they have been found to worsen the solution stability.
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There can be a signicant dependence of the results on the near-wall cell size, since the above forms assume the near-wall node to lie in the fully-turbulent log-law region.
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Forms have been proposed which partly alleviate this by using alternative expressions for U + = f (y + ) in the viscous/buffer layers. However, a major weakness with all the above is the assumption of a log-law ow region. In near-wall ows with strong pressure gradients, buoyancy or complex strains the mean velocity prole may not exhibit a log-law behaviour. For example, ow near a spinning disc:
Radial V = k V/
40
1/2 r

Advanced Wall Functions

More advanced schemes, which remove the assumption of the log-law, have been developed in recent years (eg. Gant, 2002; Gerasimov, 2003). These will not be examined in detail here, but an outline of their approaches and some applications will be shown. The Algebraic Wall Function (or AWF) was devised by Gerasimov (2003), primarily to account for force-eld effects on the mean velocity prole. A simplied wall-parallel mean momentum equation is written as

Tangential W = k (Ww-W)/
40

1/2

Re =0.10E+07
30 30

Re =0.10E+07

20

20

y
1 5 10
1/2

U ( + t ) y

P = + Cu + F u x

(6)
P yv

10

10

0 1 5 10
1/2

0 50 100 500 1000 50 100 500 1000

y =k y/

y =k y/

where Cu represents the convection terms, and Fu any other forcing (eg. due to buoyancy).

The radial component lies nowhere near the log-law.

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An assumption is made for the variation of turbulent viscosity across the near-wall cell:

y n t P

Application to buoyancy aided and opposed pipe ows: Buoyancy-Opposed Flow Buoyancy-Aided Flow
q q

t =

0 c cl (y yv )

for y < yv for y yv

(7)

yv

With suitable approximations for Cu , Fu and P/ x , equation (6) can be integrated analytically, giving an expression of the form U= U1 (y ) U2 (y ) for y < yv for y yv (8)
Nu

100

80

60

Exp.data of Li (1994) Calc. without F() * yn=50 y* =100 n * yn=150 Nu=0.023 Pr0.333 Re0.8 LRN Calculation

q
Rin

Rout

40

This expression for U can be used to estimate the wall shear stress, which is fed into the mean momentum discretized source terms as before. The analytic U prole can also be used to evaluate quantities such as Pk .

20

0 50

100

150

x/d

The AWF captures the buoyancy effects on heat transfer.

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A second approach, Gant (2002) (Numerical Wall Function) involves putting a 1-D sub-grid across each main near-wall cell.
Maingrid scalar nodes

The Gant (2002) scheme applied to impinging jets: Launder-Sharma k -

Standard wall function
0.25 0.25 0.225 0.225

UMIST-N
Nusselt Number, Nu/(Re Pr )
0.4

Nusselt Number, Nu/(Re Pr )

0.7

0.15

0.7

0.4

0.2

0.175

Experiment Low-Re DX=500 DX=400 DX=300 DX=250

0.2

0.175

0.15

Experiment Low-Re DX=500 DX=400 DX=300 DX=250

0.125

0.125

Subgrid nodes

0.1

0.1

Subgrid defined within nearwall maingrid cell

0.075

0.075

0.05

0.05

0.025

0.025

0.0 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

0.0 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

Displacement from Jet Centreline, r/D

Displacement from Jet Centreline, r/D

Re = 70, 000 H/D = 4

Nusselt Number, Nu/(Re Pr )
0.4

Non-Linear EVM (Craft et al, 1996)

Standard wall function
0.25 0.25 0.225 0.225
0.4

UMIST-N
Nusselt Number, Nu/(Re Pr )
0.2

Simplied 1-D transport equations were solved numerically across each sub-grid (using a suitable low-Reynolds-number turbulence model). Quantities such as wall shear stress, Pk and were computed from these local 1-D solutions and used in the main grid source/sink terms as before.
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0.7

0.15

0.7

Data of Baughn et al (1992).

0.2

0.175

Experiment Low-Re DX=500 DX=400 DX=300 DX=250

0.175

0.15

Experiment Low-Re DX=500 DX=400 DX=300 DX=250

0.125

0.125

0.1

0.1

0.075

0.075

0.05

0.05

0.025

0.025

0.0 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

0.0 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

Displacement from Jet Centreline, r/D

Displacement from Jet Centreline, r/D

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References
Baughn, J.W., Yan, X., Mesbah, M., (1992), The effect of Reynolds number on the heat

transfer distribution from a at plate to an impinging jet, ASME Winter Annual Meeting.
Chieng, C.C., Launder, B.E., (1980), On the calculation of turbulent heat transport

downstream from an abrupt pipe expansion, Numerical Heat Transfer, Vol. 3, pp. 189-207.
Craft, T.J., Launder, B.E., Suga, K., (1996), Development and application of a cubic

eddy-viscosity model of turbulence, Int. J. Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 17, pp. 108-115.
Gant, S.E., (2002), Development and application of a new wall function for complex

turbulent ows, PhD. Thesis, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Manufacturing Engineering, UMIST, Manchester.
Gerasimov, A.V., (2003), Development and application of an analytical wall-function strategy

for modelling forced, mixed and natural convection ows, PhD. Thesis, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Manufacturing Engineering, UMIST, Manchester.
Johnson, R.W., Launder, B.E., (1982), Discussion of On the calculation of turbulent heat

transport downstream from an abrupt pipe expansion, Numerical Heat Transfer, Vol. 5, pp. 493-496.
Li, J., (1994), Studies of buoyancy-inuenced convective heat transfer to air in a vertical

tube, PhD. Thesis, University of Manchester.

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