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Comparison of direct numerical simulations with predictions of two-point closures for isotropic turbulence convecting a passive scalar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

Jackson R. Herring  and
Robert M. Kerr
Jackson R. Herring
Affiliation:
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307, U.S.A.
Robert M. Kerr
Affiliation:
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307, U.S.A. Present address: NASA, Ames Research Center, M.S. 202A-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Results of direct numerical simulations (DNS) for the decay of an initially Gaussian field of turbulence convecting a passive scalar are compared with equivalent results for the direct-interaction approximation (DIA) and the test-field model (TFM). The Taylor microscale Reynolds number Rλ and the equivalent Péclet number Pλ of the comparison ranged from 20–8 and 10–4, respectively. The Prandtl number Pr equals 0·5. Our results show a satisfactory agreement of both theories and numerical simulations, with the DIA giving better overall agreement, especially at small scales. This improved small-scale agreement - which appears to hold up to Rλ ≃ 30 - is related to the relatively long coherence times of the small scales, and to the fact that the TFM, containing as it does a built-in compliance to the fluctuation dissipation theorem, cannot properly cope with this fact. We also give a comparison of results for the velocity skewness with the experiments of Tavoularis, Bennett & Corrsin (1978).

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 118 , May 1982 , pp. 205 - 219
Copyright
© 1982 Cambridge University Press

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