CAA of an Air-Cooling System for Electronic Devices

The prediction of the flow in a gas turbine exhaust diffuser of a combined cycle power plant is particularly difficult as maximum performance is obtained with highly loaded diffusers, which operate close to boundary layer separation. CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations then need to cope with complex phenomena such as smooth wall separation, recirculation, reattachment, blockage and free shear layer mixing. Recent studies based on the RANS (Reynolds-Averaged-Navier-Stokes) approach demonstrate the challenge for two-equation turbulence models to predict separation and mixing of the flow correctly in such highly loaded diffusers and identify that more accurate methods are needed. Hence, the application of a hybrid Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) is investigated and the CFD results are compared with experimental results from an in-house test rig. In the present study the flow in a model exhaust diffuser (for heavy-duty gas turbine diffuser applications typical Reynolds number 1.5×106 and inlet Mach number 0.6) is examined with unsteady RANS (URANS) simulations with the SST (Shear Stress Transport) model as well as a hybrid Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) model. The SAS model switches from URANS to a mode similar to a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) in unsteady flow regions to resolve various scales of detached eddies. The current study shows that with the SST model similar results are obtained with RANS and URANS simulations, whereas the more complex SAS model leads to a much better resolution of the unsteady fluctuations. However, the time-averaged results of the SAS calculations overpredict the blockage of the separation and hub wake. This results in an underprediction of the pressure recovery and the mixing of the flow compared to the simpler two-equation models and also compared to experimental results.

This study investigates the accuracy of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to predict heat transfer in turbulent separated flows at low Reynolds numbers. A novel improvement of a Scale Adaptive technique is also presented. A spectrum of turbulence models is used to simulate flow and heat transfer of two geometries; fully developed flow through a staggered tube bank and a square prism in cross flow. Experimental data for both local heat transfer and velocity data are available in the literature for these cases and have been used extensively evaluate various CFD methods. Six unsteady models were used and the results show that the unsteady Shear Stress Transport (SST) model provided good overall accuracy relative to the mean Nusselt number for both cases. However, the SST model failed to accurately predict local variations. The Partially Averaged Navier-Stokes variant of the SST model showed a marked improvement for both cases. The Dynamic Smagorinsky Large Eddy Simulation (LES) showed a much-improved fidelity to the local Nusselt but under predicted the actual values. The computational cost for the LES model was significant. In general, it was found that the computationally expensive models with higher degrees of resolved turbulence did not necessarily return more accurate results. A Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS) modification of the SST model (SAS-SST) is also used in this study. The SAS approach for the SST model adjusts the production term of the specific dissipation transport equation based on the second velocity derivative. This modification is intended to improve the SST model where local flow accelerations/ xx decelerations are detected, as occurs in separated flows. However, the local Nusselt number for the two cases considered were found to be generally less accurate than the baseline SST model. In this study a novel modification to this model was made to reduce the SAS contribution near stagnation points in the simulation. This was done through the Kato-Launder and production limiter modification in the SAS production term. The results showed only a slight improvement of the accuracy of the Nusselt number predictions. It is possible that further adjustments to the SAS terms and constants can be made to properly support and complement the stagnation point modification in this study and yield an overall better turbulence model.

This article is focused on the choice of a suitable turbulence model for simulations of an industrial pump's intake, from the perspective of accuracy and, partially, also the CPU time. Twelve steady-state and transient simulations were made on a fine computational mesh, using turbulence models such as: the shear stress transport (SST), the scale-adaptive simulation (SAS), the Reynolds stress model, the explicit algebraic Reynolds-stress model, the detached eddy simulation and the large eddy simulation (LES). The curvature-correction (CC) option was assessed for the SST and SAS turbulence models. The results were compared with the LES and with published experimental results. Although all the models could predict the main floor vortex, there were still some substantial differences. It can be able to conclude that it is better to use either the SST-CC turbulence model, due to its low-computational resources and far better results than the SST model, or the SAS-CC turbulence model, since its predictions are quite similar to the LES results. In the final step, good agreement with experimental results was shown for a longer simulation with the SAS-CC turbulence model.

Flow separation from a continuous surface under adverse pressure gradient remains one of the most challenging problems for turbulence modeling within the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) framework. Although the Shear Stress Transport (SST) model performs well for a wide range of flows, its predictive capability deteriorates in wake regions dominated by complex turbulent structures. To enhance its accuracy, a modified SST model incorporating the Renormalization Group (RNG) theory of turbulence is proposed. The RNG correction is introduced as an additional source term in the dissipation equation and is limited to the reattachment region through a blending function to ensure computational efficiency and numerical stability. The model is validated using several canonical problems, including the curved backward-facing step, vertical and inclined backward-facing steps, and the periodic hills case at various Reynolds numbers. The effects of the inflow boundary condition are carefully examined to isolate the intrinsic performance of the modified model. For this purpose, an experimental campaign is performed. Comparisons with benchmark Large Eddy Simulation studies and experimental data show that the RNG-enhanced SST model substantially improves the prediction of mean velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and wall quantities such as pressure coefficient, wall shear stress, and boundary-layer parameters. In particular, the prediction of the reattachment position is improved, yielding reduced relative errors that are nearly half of the SST model. These findings demonstrate that integrating RNG theory provides a computationally cost-effective, numerically robust, and physically consistent improvement to the SST model for separated flows from a continuous surface.

River bends and confluences are critical features in fluvial environments where complex flow patterns, including secondary currents, turbulence, and surface changes, strongly influence sediment transport, river morphology, and water quality. The accurate prediction of these flow characteristics is essential for hydraulic engineering applications. In this study, we present a numerical simulation of turbulent flow in river bends and confluences, with special consideration given to the dynamic interaction between free-surface variations and closed-surface constraints. The simulations were performed using OpenFOAM, an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) platform, with the k-ω SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model, which is well-suited for capturing boundary layer behavior and complex turbulence structures. The finite volume method (FVM) is used to simulate and examine the behavior of the secondary current in channel bends and confluences. Two sets of experimental data, one with a sharply curved channel and the other with a confluent channel, were used to compare the numerical results and to evaluate the validity of the model. This study focuses on investigating to what extent the k-ω SST turbulence model can capture the effects of secondary flow and surface changes on flow hydrodynamics, analyzing velocity profiles and turbulence effects. The results are validated against experimental data, demonstrating the model’s ability to reasonably replicate flow features under both free- and closed-surface conditions. This study provides insights into the performance of the k-ω SST model in simulating the impact of geometrical constraints on flow regimes, offering a computationally robust and reasonable tool for river engineering and water resources management, particularly in the context of hydraulic structure design and erosion control in curved and confluence regions.

A gas-kinetic scheme coupled with SST model for turbulent flows

Liquid microjet impingement cooling has shown the potential to be the solution for heat removal from electronic devices such as very-large-scale integration (VLSI) chips. The post-impingement dynamics of the jet, specifically the interaction between the liquid fronts on the surface engendered by the jets is a critical criterion improving the heat transfer characteristics. While some seminally important experimental studies have investigated this attribute, the amount of accurate data and analysis is limited by the shortcomings of real-life experiments. In this article, numerical investigations into the fluid dynamics and heat transfer in microjet cooling systems are carried out. Specifically, this paper addresses the question regarding the necessary fidelity of the simulations. Different Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models are compared to the Large Eddy Simulations (LES) simulation and the potential fidelity of different eddy-viscosity-based closures is clearly shown. Recommendations are made regarding the RANS closures that should give the best performance. It is demonstrated that the transition Shear Stress Transport (SST) model and k - ω SST model both show excellent ability to predict the local or average Nu, and also local level pressure coefficient f with less than 5% difference in the range of 30 < Red < 4000, compared with the reference LES model. For the experimental measurements in the range of 130 < Red < 1400, the LES model, transition SST model and k - ω SST model all show less than 25% prediction error. Moreover, it is shown that the validity of the unit cell assumption for the temperature and flow distribution depends on the flow rate.

Corner separation is one type of the three-dimensional (3D) separated flows which is commonly observed at the junction of the blade suction surface and endwall of an axial compressor. The commonly used Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models, namely Spalart-Allmaras (SA) and Menter’s Shear Stress Transport (SST) models, have been found to overpredict the size of corner separation. The physical reason is partly attributed to the underestimation of turbulence mixing between the mainstream flow and the endwall boundary-layer flow. This makes the endwall boundary layer unable to withstand the bulk adverse pressure gradients, and in turn leads to its premature separation from the endwall surface during its migration towards the endwall/blade suction surface corner. The endwall flow characteristics within the compressor stator cascade are then studied to facilitate understanding the physical mechanisms that drive the formation of 3D flow structures, and the physical reasons that lead to RANS modelling uncertainties. It is found that the insufficient near-wall boundary layer mixing is partly due to the failure of both SA and SST models to reasonably model the non-equilibrium turbulence behaviors inside the endwall boundary layer, which is caused by the boundary layer skewness. Based on the understanding of the skew-induced turbulence characteristics and its effect on mixing, a detailed effort is presented towards the physical-based modelling of the skew-induced non-equilibrium wall-bounded turbulence. The source terms in the SA and SST models that control mixing are identified and modified, in order to enhance mixing and strengthen the endwall boundary layer. The improved turbulence models are then validated against the compressor corner separation flows under various operating conditions to prove that the location and extent of the corner separation are more realistically predicted.

Turbulent flow and heat transfer past a cube (L × L × L) mounted on one wall of a channel of height 2L have served as a benchmark problem to validate computational methods and turbulence models because of the richness in the flow features induced by an unassumingly simple geometry. These include an unstable bi-modal horse-shoe vertical structure upstream of the cube, vortex shedding from the two sides of the cube that extend to the aft of the cube, and periodic separation from the top of the cube. In this study, simulations based on steady and unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS and URANS) and large-eddy simulations (LES) were performed to understand the nature of the flow and how that flow affects pressure, drag, and surface heat transfer distributions. For RANS and URANS, the following turbulence models were assessed: the realizable k−ε model, the shear-stress transport (SST) model with and without corrections for curvature, the Reynolds stress model with linear pressure strain (RSM-LPS), and the stress-omega Reynolds stress model. In this study, the RANS and URANS results were generated by using the ANYSYS Fluent code, and the LES results were generated by using the PowerFlow code. Results obtained show RANS to be unacceptable in predicting the reattachment of the separation bubble downstream of the cube. URANS by being able to resolve the oscillatory shedding from the two sides of the cube was able to predict the reattachment with reasonable accuracy. URANS with the SST model that has the curvature correction gave the best results for the reattachment length downstream of the cube (relative error within 5% of the experimental data). Also, this model was able to capture all details of the flow features revealed in the experimental oil-flow study with considerable accuracy. However even with this model, the predicted pressure just downstream of the cube is incorrect by up to 50%. This is because URANS was unable to predict the unstable bi-modal, horse-shoe vortex system upstream of the cube induced by interactions between the spanwise vortices in the turbulent boundary layer and the horsehoe vortex system. This interaction was found to cause the separation bubble on top of the cube to shed periodically. By being able to capture this interaction, LES was able to better predict the pressure just downstream of the cube. This shows why LES is needed and why RANS and URANS are inadequate unless those models can be modified to account for these unsteady interactions. Steady and unsteady RANS based on the SST model were also employed to study the heat transfer about the surface of the cube. Reasonably good results were obtained for the leading and trailing faces of the cube but not for the top and the two side faces. A parametric study on the effects of the turbulent Prandtl number show the connection between the turbulent eddy viscosity and the turbulent thermal conductivity cannot be represented by a simple algebraic equation, the Prandtl number. Thus, better RANS models are needed to capture the physics embedded in the correlations between the fluctuating velocities and temperatures. A paper on this work is being prepared. The order of authorship will be X. Chi, K, Adeel Ahmad, Surya Muthukannan Chinnamani, and T. I-P. Shih. The author of this abstract thanks his students who worked on the different parts of this problem.

This paper describes a detailed experimental investigation of narrow jet impingement channel with surface features. Three novel surface features: aerofoil shaped dimple cavities on the target plate, chevron elements extending between the jet issuing plate and the target plate and 45 degree wedges mounted on the jet-issuing plate, are proposed. The narrow rectangular channel is 254 mm × 57.2 mm × 19.1 mm (10” × 2.25” × 0.75”) in dimensions and consists of five jets with a constant diameter, D of 9.525 mm (0.375”). The inter-jet spacing and jet-to-target plate distance is 4D and 2D, respectively. Three test cases with different novel surface features are proposed, and the effect of these surface features on the distribution of heat transfer coefficient on the target plate is characterized using the transient liquid crystal technique. In the first test case, dimpulated surface features are introduced on the target plate. The second case consists of chevron elements which extend between the jet issuing plate and the target plate, while the third case has 45 degree wedges mounted on the jet-issuing plate. The smooth jet impingement channel is used as a baseline case for comparison of the heat transfer coefficient distribution on the target plate. The Reynolds number is defined based on the jet diameter, D and bulk velocity of the jet. The experiments were performed at Reynolds number ranging between 61,000 to 98,000. In order to gain a better insight of the flow field within the channel for each of these features, a steady state numerical simulation was performed for each case using the commercially available software, ANSYS CFX. The boundary conditions for these simulations were set as close to the experimental conditions as possible. For turbulence closure, the Shear Stress Transport (SST) model was used which has been shown to be reasonably accurate with moderate computational costs. The numerical results are in favorable trend compared to the values obtained through experimentation. However, in certain regions, the SST turbulence model has overpredicted the heat transfer coefficient values. The results show that the first test case with dimpulated surface features exhibits the highest heat transfer enhancement among all the tested configurations. This enhancement is approximately 25 percent higher than that of the baseline case. The presence of the chevron elements has minimized the deflection of the jets due to crossflow, but, inhibited the spreading of the impinging jets on the target plate. This, in turn, has reduced the local heat transfer performance quite substantially. In case of the 45 degree wedges, the heat transfer enhancement was augmented at the downstream, which was ultimately caused by the diversion of the crossflow towards the target plate.

This paper presents results from numerical simulations of a 3-bladed horizontal axis tidal stream turbine (TST). A two-equation transient Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) k-! Shear Stress Transport (SST)model was used for code validation and testing of a newly implemented sliding mesh technique for Code Saturne. Wall- and blade-resolved large-eddy simulations (LES) were then performed to study the complete geometry at various tip speed ratios (TSR). Thrust and power coefficients were compared to experimental measurements in a towing tank for a range of TSR (4, 5, 6, 7 & 8) at a fixed hub pitch angle. A strong flow meandering was observed with the wake recovery and velocity deficit showing a high sensitivity to upstream turbulence intensities. The mean thrust and power coefficients by RANS k-! SST model were found to be more sensitive to the upstream turbulence than the LES. A comparison of all models are also presented for the mean sectional blade pressures and mean wake velocity profiles. The paper also presents an overview of modelling and numerical issues relating to fine LES for such rotating geometries

Delta wing configurations with double- and triple-leading edges introduced within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Applied Vehicle Technology -316 task group are examined to investigate the dynamics of vortices and shocks, with potential implications for the preliminary aircraft design. The numerical simulations are conducted for the configurations at Ma∞=0.85 and Re∞=12.53×106 using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes k−ω shear stress transport (SST) model across a range of incidence angles. The detailed analysis focuses on the case with α=20° using the scale-adaptive simulation based on the k−ω SST model. This study considers shock-vortex interaction and breakdown with buffeting to study the transient flow physics over the wing. Additionally, insights into vorticity strength and destruction are gained through the enstrophy transport equation. The findings reveal that the inboard vortex (IBV) development is impeded by counter-rotating secondary vortices from IBV and the midboard vortex. A key distinction is observed for the first time between the double-delta and triple-delta wings, in that the double-delta wing experiences shock-induced vortex breakdown, with the transient nature of this breakdown leading to an adjustment in the shock position, causing a shock buffet. In contrast, the breakdown in the triple-delta wing is linked to a stationary shock induced by the kink in the planform. This study highlights the crucial role of the orientation of the shock relative to the vortex axis in characterizing the aerodynamic performance of the planforms.

In order to facilitate the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools by aerodynamic designers, an assessment of error was made for the Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST), Spalart-Allmaras, and Nichols-Nelson Hybrid (RANS/LES) SST turbulence models. The assessment was made for incompressible flow over a smooth flat plate of unit length. Correlations of the error in drag coefficient with initial grid point spacing, expressed in terms of y+, were discovered for each model. It was found that the correlations were nonlinear and could be expressed in terms of the sine function.

Various corrections were previously proposed to account for wall roughness with the k–ω and shear stress transport (SST) models. A simplified analysis, based upon the wall region analysis, is proposed to characterize the behavior of these roughness corrections. As this analysis points out some deficiencies for each correction, two new corrections are proposed for the SST model, to reproduce different behaviors, mainly in the transition regime. The correction development is based upon a previously developed strategy. A large set of boundary layer experiments is used to compare the different roughness corrections, confirm the failures of previous proposals, and validate the present ones. Moreover, it assesses the proposed simplified analysis. It also evidences the difficulty to determine the equivalent sand grain roughness for a given surface. The Colebrook based correction is recommended while the Nikuradse based one can add information about the envelope of possible behaviors in the transition regime.

– This document describes the investigation of the behavior of the flow over a pitching NACA 0012 airfoil at Reynolds number Re=100,000 and Re=2,500,000 of the analysis of a two-dimensional k-ω SST (Shear Stress Transport) simulation. The behavior of the flow wake at the trailing edge is studied by the analysis of streamlines for each incidence angle and results are compared by the study of theoretical concepts and experimental data. The use of standard Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulation has shown accuracy in predicting stall and reattachment incidence angles for upstroke and downstroke. The simulations were also capable of capturing flow information in agreement with experiments despite the over prediction of lift and drag coefficients, due to the two-dimensional simplification. The study has also compared the two-dimensional URANS k-ω SST turbulence model simulation data with previous results from three-dimensional simulation Wall Resolved Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and two-dimensional URANS k-e Chien turbulence model analysis, showing that the qualitative behavior of the hysteresis loop is close for the computations, although there is a quantitative deviation in the results for upstroke and downstroke in the lift coefficient.