Turbulent Mixed Convection in a Vertical Channel: Application of Different Turbulence Models

The aim of present work is to analyze the adequacy of different turbulence models based on the RANS formulation in the prediction of turbulent internal mixed convection flow between two vertical parallel plates kept at different temperatures. Within the RANS based turbulence models, Launder-Sharma, v۲ - f and ζ - f۰ are explored. Reynolds number based on the channel half-width and the friction velocity is assumed to be ۱۵۰ and the Grashof number based on the channel width and the wall temperature difference is considered to be ۹.۶*۱۰۵. The buoyancy effect on the turbulent statistics including the mean velocity and temperature are examined. Regarding the direction of buoyancy effect, two flow situations, known as aiding and opposing flows, are considered. The numerical investigation is carried out using the OpenFOAM open source CFD toolbox. The results are compared with the DNS data available in the literature. It is found that in the opposing flow situation, the v۲ - f model is in closest agreement with the direct numerical simulation data. However, the results of all three models have deviations from the available DNS data in the aiding flow situation.

کلیدواژه ها:

Turbulent mixed-convection ، RANS ، OpenFOAM ، Vertical channel