Lagrangian Modeling of Turbulent Dispersion from Instantaneous Point Sources at the Center of a Turbulent Flow Channel

• Main Authors: Quoc Nguyen, Samuel E. Feher, Dimitrios V. Papavassiliou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-09-01
• Series: Fluids
• Subjects: turbulent transport; Lagrangian modeling; turbulent dispersion; direct numerical simulation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/2/3/46

The paper is focused on the simulation and modeling of the dispersion from an instantaneous source of heat or mass located at the center of a turbulent flow channel. The flow is modeled with a direct numerical simulation, and the dispersion is modeled with Lagrangian methods based on Lagrangian scalar tracking (LST). The LST technique allows the simulation of scalar sources that span a range of Prandtl or Schmidt numbers that cover orders of magnitude. The trajectories of individual heat or mass markers are tracked, generating a probability distribution function that describes the behavior of instantaneous point sources of a scalar in the turbulent field. The effect of the Prandtl or Schmidt number on turbulent dispersion is examined, with emphasis on the dispersion pattern. Results for Prandtl or Schmidt numbers between 0.1 and 15,000 are presented. For an instantaneous source at the channel center, it is found that there are two zones of cloud development: one where molecular diffusion plays a role at very small times (early stage of the dispersion), and one where turbulent convection dominates. The asphericity of the scalar marker cloud is found to increase monotonically, in contrast to published results for isotropic, homogenous turbulence, where the asphericity goes through a maximum.