A new transport equation for intermittency factor is proposed to model transitional flows. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is incorporated into the computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, obtainable from a turbulence model, with the intermittency factor, γ:μt*=γμt. In this paper, Menter’s SST model is employed to compute μt and other turbulent quantities. The proposed intermittency transport equation can be considered as a blending of two models—Steelant and Dick and Cho and Chung. The former was proposed for near-wall flows and was designed to reproduce the streamwise variation of the intermittency factor in the transition zone following Dhawan and Narasimha correlation and the latter was proposed for free shear flows and a realistic cross-stream variation of the intermittency profile was reproduced. The new model was used to predict the T3 series experiments assembled by Savill including flows with different freestream turbulence intensities and two pressure-gradient cases. For all test cases good agreements between the computed results and the experimental data were observed. [S0098-2202(00)02302-6]

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
laminar to turbulent transitions, viscosity, transport processes, turbines, boundary layer turbulence
Topics:
Flow (Dynamics), Turbulence, Pressure gradient, Viscosity
1.
Savill, A. M., 1993, “Some Recent Progress in The Turbulence Modeling of By-Pass Transition,” Near-Wall Turbulent Flows, R. M. C. So, C. G. Speziale and B. E. Launder, eds., Elsevier Science, pp. 829–848.
2.
Savill, A. M., 1993, “Further Progress in The Turbulence Modeling of By-Pass Transition,” Engineering Turbulence Modeling and Experiments 2, W. Rodi and F. Martelli, eds., Elsevier Science, pp. 583–592.
3.
Westin
,
K. J. A.
, and
Henkes
,
R. A. W. M.
,
1997
, “
Application of Turbulence Models to Bypass Transition
,”
ASME J. Fluids Eng.
,
119
, pp.
859
–
866
.
4.
Dhawan
,
S.
, and
Narasimha
,
R.
,
1958
, “
Some Properties of Boundary Layer During the Transition from Laminar to Turbulent Flow Motion
,”
J. Fluid Mech.
,
3
, pp.
418
–
436
.
5.
Gostelow
,
J. P.
,
Blunden
,
A. R.
, and
Walker
,
G. J.
,
1994
, “
Effects of Free-Stream Turbulence and Adverse Pressure Gradients on Boundary Layer Transition
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
116
, pp.
392
–
404
.
6.
Solomon, W. J., Walker, G. J., and Gostelow, J. P., 1995, “Transition Length Prediction for Flows with Rapidly Changing Pressure Gradients,” ASME Paper ASME-95-GT-241, International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress & Exposition, Houston, Texas, June 5–8.
7.
Chen
,
K. K.
, and
Thyson
,
N. A.
,
1971
, “
Extension of Emmons’ Spot Theory to Flows on Blunt Bodies
,”
AIAA J.
,
9
, No.
5
, pp.
821
–
825
.
8.
Steelant
,
J.
, and
Dick
,
E.
,
1996
, “
Modelling of Bypass Transition with Conditioned Navier-Stokes Equations Coupled to an Intermittency Transport Equation
,”
Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids
,
23
, pp.
193
–
220
.
9.
Cho
,
J. R.
, and
Chung
,
M. K.
,
1992
, “
A k−ε−γ Equation Turbulence Model
,”
J. Fluid Mech.
,
237
, pp.
301
–
322
.
10.
Launder
,
B. E.
, and
Sharma
,
B. I.
,
1974
, “
Application of the Energy Dissipation Model of Turbulence to the Calculation of Flow Near a Spinning Disc
,”
Lett. Heat Mass Transfer
,
1
, pp.
131
–
138
.
11.
Wilcox
,
D. C.
,
1988
, “
Reassessment of the Scale-Determining Equation for Advanced Turbulence Models
,”
AIAA J.
,
26
, No.
11
, pp.
1299
–
1310
.
12.
Menter
,
F. R.
,
1994
, “
Two-Equation Eddy-Viscosity Turbulence Models for Engineering Applications
,”
AIAA J.
,
32
, No.
8
August, pp.
1598
–
1605
.
13.
Narasimha
,
R.
,
1985
, “
The Laminar-Turbulent Transition Zone in the Boundary Layer
,”
Prog. Aerosp. Sci.
,
22
, pp.
29
–
80
.
14.
Mayle
,
R. E.
,
1991
, “
The Role of Laminar-Turbulent Transition in Gas Turbine Engines
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
113
, pp.
509
–
537
.
15.
Abu-Ghannam
,
B. J.
, and
Shaw
,
R.
,
1980
, “
Natural Transition of Boundary Layers—The Effects of Turbulence, Pressure Gradient, and Flow History
,”
J. Mech. Eng. Sci.
22
, No.
5
, pp.
213
–
228
.
16.
Klebanoff, P. S., 1955, “Characteristics of Turbulence in a Boundary Layer with Zero Pressure Gradient,” NACA Report No. 1247.
17.
Sohn, Ki-Hyeon and Reshotko, Eli, 1991, “Experimental Study of Boundary Layer Transition With Elevated Freestream Turbulence on a Heated Flat Plate,” NASA CR-187068.
18.
Gostelow
,
J. P.
, and
Walker
,
G. J.
,
1991
, “
Similarity Behavior in Transitional Boundary Layers Over a Range of Adverse Pressure Gradients and Turbulence Levels
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
113
, pp.
617
–
625
.
19.
Suzen, Y. B., and Huang, P. G., 2000, “An Intermittency Transport Equation for Modeling Flow Transition,” AIAA Paper AIAA-2000-0287, 38th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV, January 10–13.
20.
Libby
,
P. A.
,
1975
, “
On the Prediction of Intermittent Turbulent Flows
,”
J. Fluid Mech.
,
68
, Part 2, pp.
273
–
295
.
21.
Simon, F. F., and Stephens, C. A., 1991, “Modeling of the Heat Transfer in Bypass Transitional Boundary-Layer Flows,” NASA Technical Paper 3170.
22.
Suzen, Y. B., Xiong, G., and Huang, P. G., 2000, “Predictions of Transitional Flows in a Low-Pressure Turbine Using an Intermittency Transport Equation,” AIAA Paper AIAA-2000-2654, Fluids 2000 Conference, Denver, Colorado, June 19–22.
Copyright © 2000
 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.