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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.
2011/12 2 / 17
Wall Functions
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
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)
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.
2011/12 3 / 17
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).
2011/12 4 / 17
Wall Functions
Wall Functions
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
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)
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)
t = (w / )/( U/ y ) = kp yp
1/2
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.
2011/12 6 / 17
Wall Functions
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
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)
8 / 17
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.
2011/12 9 / 17
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.
2011/12 10 / 17
Wall Functions
Wall Functions
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
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
y =k y/
y =k y/
where Cu represents the convection terms, and Fu any other forcing (eg. due to buoyancy).
Wall Functions
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 )
(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
Wall Functions
2011/12
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Wall Functions
A second approach, Gant (2002) (Numerical Wall Function) involves putting a 1-D sub-grid across each main near-wall cell.
Maingrid scalar nodes
UMIST-N
Nusselt Number, Nu/(Re Pr )
0.4
0.7
0.15
0.7
0.4
0.2
0.175
0.2
0.175
0.15
0.125
0.125
Subgrid nodes
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
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
0.2
0.175
0.175
0.15
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
Wall Functions
Wall Functions
2011/12
16 / 17
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
Wall Functions
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