Large Eddy Simulation and Study of the Urban Boundary Layer

Based on a pseudo-spectral large eddy simulation (LES) model, an LES model with an anisotropy turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) closure model and an explicit multi-stage third-order Runge-Kutta scheme is established. The modeling and analysis show that the LES model can simulate the planetary boundary layer (PBL) with a uniform underlying surface under various stratifications very well. Then, similar to the description of a forest canopy, the drag term on momentum and the production term of TKE by subgrid city buildings are introduced into the LES equations to account for the area-averaged effect of the subgrid urban canopy elements and to simulate the meteorological fields of the urban boundary layer (UBL). Numerical experiments and comparison analysis show that: (1) the result from the LES of the UBL with a proposed formula for the drag coefficient is consistent and comparable with that from wind tunnel experiments and an urban subdomain scale model; (2) due to the effect of urban buildings, the wind velocity near the canopy is decreased, turbulence is intensified, TKE, variance, and momentum flux are increased, the momentum and heat flux at the top of the PBL are increased, and the development of the PBL is quickened; (3) the height of the roughness sublayer (RS) of the actual city buildings is the maximum building height (1.5-3 times the mean building height), and a constant flux layer (CFL) exists in the lower part of the UBL.

Large eddy simulation of turbulence in ocean surface boundary layer at Zhangzi Island offshore

This study uses a large eddy simulation （LES） model to investigate the turbulence processes in the ocean surface boundary layer at Zhangzi Island offshore. Field measurements at Zhangzi Island （39°N, 122°E） during July 2009 are used to drive the LES model. The LES results capture a clear diurnal cycle in the oceanic turbulence boundary layer. The process of the heat penetration and heat distribution characteristics are analyzed through the heat flux results from the LES and their differences between two diurnal cycles are discussed as well. Energy balance and other dynamics are investigated which show that the tide-induced shear production is the main source of the turbulence energy that balanced dissipation. Momentum flux near the surface shows better agreement with atmospheric data computed by the eddy correlation method than those computed by bulk formula.

Performance of WRF Large Eddy Simulations in Modeling the Convective Boundary Layer over the Taklimakan Desert, China

The maximum height of the convective boundary layer(CBL)over the Taklimakan Desert can exceed 5000 m during summer and plays a crucial role in the regional circulation and weather.We combined the Weather Research and Forecasting Large Eddy Simulation(WRF-LES)with data from Global Positioning System(GPS)radiosondes and from eddy covariance stations to evaluate the performance of the WRF-LES in simulating the characteristics of the deep CBL over the central Taklimakan Desert.The model reproduced the evolution of the CBL processes reasonably well,but the simulations generated warmer and moister conditions than the observation as a result of the over-prediction of surface fluxes and large-scale advection.Further simulations were performed with multiple configurations and sensitivity tests.The sensitivity tests for the lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)showed that the model results are sensitive to changes in the time resolution and domain size of the specified LBCs.A larger domain size varies the distance of the area of interest from the LBCs and reduces the influence of large forecast errors near the LBCs.Comparing the model results using the original parameterization of sensible heat flux with the Noah land surface scheme and those of the sensitivity experiments showed that the desert CBL is sensitive to the sensible heat flux produced by the land surface scheme during daytime in summer.A reduction in the sensible heat flux can correct overestimates of the potential temperature profile.However,increasing the sensible heat flux significantly reduces the total time needed to increase the CBL to a relatively low altitude(<3 km)in the middle and initial stages of the development of the CBL rather than producing a higher CBL in the later stages.

Large eddy simulation of boundary layer combustion of hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuel films in a modeled scramjet combustor

Supersonic fuel film cooling is a promising way to simultaneously reduce the severe wall heat and friction load of the internal passage in a scramjet engine when operating at hypersonic conditions.Large eddy simulations were performed to investigate the cooling and wall friction characteristics of hydrogen and hydrocarbon films under inert and reactive circumstances.The results show that the essential difference of the turbulent state in the mixing layer contributes to the totally different behaviors of the cooling and wall friction reduction performances of the two fuel films.The turbulent transport processes between the hydrogen film and the mainstream are much weaker as compared to the case of hydrocarbon film,making inert hydrogen rather superior in cooling and friction reduction applications.Besides,the increase of wall temperature for hydrogen film under the inert case is mainly driven by the loss of hydrogen with high heat capacity instead of by direct heat addition.However,the film cooling performance severely deteriorates when the hydrogen film burns due to presence of severe heat release sources near the wall.On the other hand,combustion of hydrocarbon film in the boundary layer can remarkably improve its originally barely-satisfactory cooling and friction reduction performance to the level comparable to that of hydrogen film,due to the suppression of turbulent transport processes in the mixing layer and presence of heat absorption sources near the wall.Overall,the hydrogen film is more advantageous in friction reduction,while the hydrocarbon film is more suitable for cooling.

Large eddy simulation of high-Reynolds-number atmospheric boundary layer flow with improved near-wall correction

It is highly attractive to develop an efficient and flexible large eddy simulation(LES)technique for high-Reynolds-number atmospheric boundary layer(ABL)simulation using the low-order numerical scheme on a relatively coarse grid,that could reproduce the logarithmic profile of the mean velocity and some key features of large-scale coherent structures in the outer layer.In this study,an improved near-wall correction scheme for the vertical gradient of the resolved streamwise velocity in the strain-rate tensor is proposed to calculate the eddy viscosity coefficient in the subgrid-scale(SGS)model.The LES code is realized with a second-order finite-difference scheme,the scale-dependent dynamic SGS stress model,the equilibrium wall stress model,and the proposed correction scheme.Very-high-Reynolds-number ABL flow simulation under the neutral stratification condition is conducted to assess the performance of the method in predicting the mean and fluctuating characteristics of the rough-wall turbulence.It is found that the logarithmic profile of the mean streamwise velocity and some key features of large-scale coherent structures can be reasonably predicted by adopting the proposed correction method and the low-order numerical scheme.

Investigation of Wall Pressure Fluctuations in a Turbulent Boundary Layer by Large Eddy Simulation

Large eddy simulation (LES) was used to investigate the space-time field of the low Mach number, fully developed turbulent boundary layer on a smooth, rigid flat plate. The wall-pressure field simulated by LES was analyzed to obtain the pressure statistics, including the wall-pressure root-mean square, skewness and flatness factors, which show the wall pressure distribution was not Gaussian. The profile of the auto-power spectral density and the contour of the streamwise wavenumber-frequency spectral density of wall-pressure were plotted. The "convection ridge" can be observed clearly and the convection velocity can be calculated from the location of the convection peak.

Analyzing coherent structures in the tropical cyclone boundary layer using large eddy simulations

Turbulence within the tropical cyclone boundary layer plays a crucial role in the exchange of heat,moisture,and momentum between the surface and the atmosphere.This study investigates the characteristics of coherent structures,specifically streaks and rolls,using large eddy simulations.Our results highlight significant differences across the three radius cases,with smaller radius exhibiting more intense and organized turbulence and streak/roll structures.Our analyses reveal that thermodynamic conditions significantly impact the timing of initial streak/roll development but do not affect their intensity in the steady state.Wind structures closer to the tropical cyclone center lead to stronger and more rapidly developing streaks/rolls,indicating their critical role in determining the intensity and formation of these features.Sensitivity tests on the Coriolis parameter(f)and radial decay parameter of tangential wind(n)show minimal impact on the development of streaks/rolls,suggesting these factors are less influential compared to wind and thermodynamic conditions.

Development of the Convective Boundary Layer Capping with a Thick Neutral Layer in Badanjilin:Observations and Simulations

In this study, the development of a convective boundary layer （CBL） in the Badaujilin region was investigated by comparing the observation data of two cases. A deep neutral layer capped a CBL that occurred on 30 August 2009. This case was divided into five sublayers from the surface to higher atmospheric elevations： surface layer, mixed layer, inversion layer, neutral layer, and sub-inversion layer. The development process of the CBL was divided into three stages： S1, S2, and S3. This case was quite different from the development of the three-layer CBL observed on 31 August 2009 because the mixed layer of the five-layer CBL （CBL5） eroded the neutral layer during S2. The specific initial structure of the CBL5 was correlated to the synoptic background of atmosphere during nighttime. The three-stage development process of the CBL5 was confirmed by six simulations using National Center for Atmospheric Research （USA） large-eddy simulation （NCAR-LES）, and some of its characteristics are presented in detail.

Footprint Characteristics of Scalar Concentration in the Convective Boundary Layer

Footprint characteristics for passive scalar concentration in the convective boundary layer （CBL） are investigated. A backward Lagrangian stochastic （LS） dispersion model and a large eddy simulation （LES） model are used in the investigation. Typical characteristics of the CBL and their responses to the surface heterogeneity are resolved from the LES. Then the turbulence fields are used to drive the backward LS dispersion. To remedy the spoiled description of the turbulence near the surface, MoninObukhov similarity is applied to the lowest LES level and the surface for the modeling of the backward LS dispersion. Simulation results show that the footprint within approximately 1 km upwind predominates in the total contribution. But influence from farther distances also exists and is even slightly greater than that from closer locations. Surface heterogeneity may change the footprint pattern to a certain degree. A comparison to three analytical models provides a validation of the footprint simulations, which shows the possible influence of along-wind turbulence and the large eddies in the CBL, as well as the surface heterogeneity.

Large eddy simulation study of 3D wind field in a complex mountainous area under different boundary conditions

Large eddy simulations generally are used to predict 3D wind field characteristics in complex mountainous areas.Certain simulation boundary conditions,such as the height and length of the computational domain or the characteristics of inflow turbulence,can significantly impact the quality of predictions.In this study,we examined these boundary conditions within the context of the mountainous terrain around a long-span cable-stayed bridge using a wind tunnel experiment.Various sizes of computational domains and turbulent incoming wind velocities were used in large eddy simulations.The results show that when the height of the computational domain is five times greater than the height of the terrain model,there is minimal influence from the top wall on the wind field characteristics in this complex mountainous area.Expanding the length of the wake region of the computational domain has negligible effects on the wind fields.Turbulence in the inlet boundary reduces the length of the wake region on a leeward hill with a low slope,but has less impact on the mean wind velocity of steep hills.

Large eddy simulation of water flow over series of dunes

Large eddy simulation was used to investigate the spatial development of open channel flow over a series of dunes. The three-dimensional filtered Navier-Stokes （N-S） equations were numerically solved with the fractional-step method in sigma coordinates. The subgrid-scale turbulent stress was modeled with a dynamic coherent eddy viscosity model proposed by the authors The computed velocity profiles are in good agreement with the available experimental results. The mean velocity and the turbulent Reynolds stress affected by a series of dune-shaped structures were compared and analyzed. The variation of turbulence statistics along the flow direction affected by the wavy bottom roughness has been studied. The turbulent boundary layer in a complex geographic environment can be simulated well with the proposed large eddy simulation （LES） model.

Numerical analysis of turbulent fluctuations around an axisymmetric body of revolution based on wall-modeled large eddy simulations

Wall-modeled large eddy simulation(WMLES)is used to investigate turbulent fluctuations around an axisymmetric body of revolution.This study focuses on evaluating the ability of WMLES to predict the fluctuating flow over the axisymmetric hull and analyzing the evolution of turbulent fluctuations around the body.The geometry is the DARPA SUBOFF bare model and the Reynolds number is 1.2×10^(7),based on the free-stream velocity and the length of the body.Near-wall flow structures and complex turbulent fluctuation fields are successfully captured.Time-averaged flow quantities,such as time-averaged pressure and skin-friction coefficients,and time-averaged velocity profiles on the stern,achieved great agreements between WMLES results and experimental data.Self-similarity of time-averaged velocity defects within a self-similar coordinate up to twelve diameters from the tail.A comprehensive analysis of second-order statistics in the mid-body,stern,and wake regions is condutced.Numerical results agree well with experimental data and previous wall-resolved large eddy simulation(WRLES)results about root mean square(rms)of radial and axial fluctuating velocities at the stern.Turbulent fluctuations including turbulent kinetic energy(TKE)and second-order velocity statistics are identified as dual peak behavior and non-self-similar over the wake length,consistent with previous findings in the literature.This assessment enhances the understanding of WMLES capabilities in capturing complex fluctuating flow around axisymmetric geometries.

Wall-modeling for large-eddy simulation of flows around an axisymmetric body using the diffuse-interface immersed boundary method

A novel method is proposed to combine the wall-modeled large-eddy simulation(LES) with the diffuse-interface direct-forcing immersed boundary(IB) method.The new developments in this method include:(i) the momentum equation is integrated along the wall-normal direction to link the tangential component of the effective body force for the IB method to the wall shear stress predicted by the wall model;(ii) a set of Lagrangian points near the wall are introduced to compute the normal component of the effective body force for the IB method by reconstructing the normal component of the velocity. This novel method will be a classical direct-forcing IB method if the grid is fine enough to resolve the flow near the wall. The method is used to simulate the flows around the DARPA SUBOFF model. The results obtained are well comparable to the measured experimental data and wall-resolved LES results.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF HORSESHOE-SHAPED VORTEX IN NEAR-WALL REGION OF TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER

The low-Reynolds-number full developed turbulent flow in channels is simulated using large eddy simulation（LES）method with the preconditioned algorithm and the dynamic subgrid-scale model,with a given disturbance in inlet boundary,after a short development section.The inlet Reynolds number based on momentum thickness is 670.The computed results show good agreement with direct numerical simulation（DNS）,which include root mean square fluctuated velocity distribution and average velocity distribution.It is also found that the staggered phenomenon of the coherent structures is caused by sub-harmonic.The results clearly show the formation and evolution of horseshoe vortex in the turbulent boundary layer,including horseshoe vortex structure with a pair of streamwise vortexes and one-side leg of horseshoe vortex.Based on the results,the development of the horseshoe-shaped coherent structures is analyzed in turbulent boundary layer.

Parameterization of Sheared Entrainment in a Well-Developed CBL.Part I:Evaluation of the Scheme through Large-Eddy Simulations

The entrainment flux ratio Ae and the inversion layer （IL） thickness are two key parameters in a mixed layer model. Ae is defined as the ratio of the entrainment heat flux at the mixed layer top to the surface heat flux. The IL is the layer between the mixed layer and the free atmosphere. In this study, a parameterization of Ae is derived from the TKE budget in the first- order model for a well-developed CBL under the condition of linearly sheared geostrophic velocity with a zero value at the surface. It is also appropriate for a CBL under the condition of geostrophic velocity remaining constant with height. LESs are conducted under the above two conditions to determine the coefficients in the parameterization scheme. Results suggest that about 43% of the shear-produced TKE in the IL is available for entrainment, while the shear-produced TKE in the mixed layer and surface layer have little effect on entrainment. Based on this scheme, a new scale of convective turbulence velocity is proposed and applied to parameterize the IL thickness, The LES outputs for the CBLs under the condition of linearly sheared geostrophic velocity with a non-zero surface value are used to verify the performance of the parameterization scheme. It is found that the parameterized Ae and IL thickness agree well with the LES outputs.

Large Eddy Simulation of the By-pass Transition Process under Different Inlet Turbulence Conditions

The transition process of the boundary layer developing over a flat plate with elevated inlet Free Stream Turbulence Intensity(FSTI)has been studied by means of Large Eddy Simulation(LES).To this purpose,four cases with different inflow disturbances have been tested varying the magnitude and the length scale of turbulence.LES has been performed by using the finite-volume ANSYS Fluent code.The computational domain,which was constituted by a rectangular domain with a zero thickness plate,was based on an ERCOFTAC test case in order to provide a validation with a well-known set of data by comparing the boundary layer integral parameters and mean and fluctuating streamwise velocity profiles.The four cases were discussed within the paper by looking at classical statistical properties as well as advanced post-processing tools.It was shown that the decrease in the free stream turbulence level postpones the transition location,whereas the variation of the integral length scale has a very low influence on the distribution of the time-mean flow properties.Proper Orthogonal Decomposition(POD)has been applied to the instantaneous LES flow fields in order to provide a statistical representation of the structures responsible for transition and their response to free-stream turbulence intensity and length scale.The presence of vortical filaments parallel to the wall,typically referred as boundary layer streaks,is clearly identified;their characteristic dimensions and how they change as a function of FSTI properties were analyzed within the paper.

Characteristics of Secondary Circulations in the Convective Boundary Layer over Two-Dimensional Heterogeneous Surfaces

Large-eddy simulations are conducted to investigate the impacts of the scale of chessboard-like heteroge- neous surface heating and the background wind on secondary circulations （SCs） in the convective boundary layer （CBL）. When the wind blows along the diagonal of the chessboard pattern, the cases with different heterogeneity length scales （λ = 1.2, 2.4, and 4.8 km） and weak background wind （U = 2.5 m s-1） suggest that there exists a threshold for the roll-like SCs, which is satisfied when the heterogeneity length scale is 1.6 times the boundary layer height （λ = 1.6zi）. During the CBL development, the SC intensity increases before this threshold is met, whereas it decreases thereafter. The cases with different background wind speeds （U = 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 m s-1） and relatively large heterogeneity length scale （λ = 4.8 km） show that the SCs are strengthened by larger wind speeds when the heterogeneity length scale is so large that the threshold cannot be met during the CBL development. Another case with wind direction along neither the diagonal nor the side of the chessboard pattern shows that the roll-like SCs can still be triggered, but the roll axes are orientated along the diagonal of the chessboard pattern rather than along the wind direction.

Transport of particles in an atmospheric turbulent boundary layer

A program incorporating the parallel code of large eddy simulation （LES） and particle transportation model is developed to simulate the motion of particles in an atmospheric turbulent boundary layer （ATBL）. A model of particles of 100-micrometer order coupling with large scale ATBL is proposed. Two typical cases are studied, one focuses on the evolution of particle profile in the ATBL and the landing displacement of particles, whereas the other on the motion of particle stream.

Numerical Investigation on Two-dimensional Boundary Layer Flow with Transition

As a basic problem in many engineering applications, transition from laminar to turbulence still remains a difficult problem in computational fluid dynamics （CFD）. A numerical study of one transitional flow in two-dimensional is conducted by Reynolds averaged numerical simulation （RANS） in this paper. Turbulence model plays a significant role in the complex flows＇ simulation, and four advanced turbulence models are evaluated. Numerical solution of frictional resistance coefficient is compared with the measured one in the transitional zone, which indicates that Wilcox （2006） k-ω model with correction is the best candidate. Comparisons of numerical and analytical solutions for dimensionless velocity show that averaged streamwise dimensionless velocity profiles correct the shape rapidly in transitional region. Furthermore, turbulence quantities such as turbulence kinetic energy, eddy viscosity, and Reynolds stress are also studied, which are helpful to learn the transition＇s behavior.

Stable Boundary Layer Height Parameterization: Learning from Artificial Neural Networks

Artificial neural networks (ANN) are employed using different combinations among the surface friction velocity u*, surface buoyancy flux Bs, free-flow stability N, Coriolis parameter f, and surface roughness length z0 from large-eddy simulation data as inputs to investigate which variables are essential in determining the stable boundary layer(SBL) height h. In addition, the performances of several conventional linear SBL height parameterizations are evaluated. ANN results indicate that the surface friction velocity u* is the most predominant variable in the estimation of SBL height h. When u* is absent, the secondly important variable is the surface buoyancy flux Bs. The relevance of N, f, and z0 to h is also discussed;f affects more than N does, and z0 shows to be the most insensitive variable to h.