An eddy-viscosity based, subgrid-scale model for Large Eddy Simulations is derived from the analysis of the singular values of the resolved velocity gradient tensor. The proposed σ-model has by construction the property to automatically vanish as soon as the resolved field is either two-dimensional or two-component, including the pure shear and solid rotation cases. In addition, the model generates no subgrid-scale viscosity when the resolved scales are in pure axisymmetric or isotropic contraction/expansion. At last, it is shown analytically that it has the appropriate cubic behavior in the vicinity of solid boundaries without requiring any ad-hoc treatment. Results for two classical test cases (decaying isotropic turbulence and periodic channel flow) obtained from three different solvers with a variety of numerics (finite elements, finite differences or spectral methods) are presented to illustrate the potential of this model. The results obtained with the proposed model are systematically equivalent or slightly better than the results from the Dynamic Smagorinsky model. Still, the σ-model has a low computational cost, is easy to implement and does not require any homogeneous direction in space or time. It is thus anticipated that it has a high potential for the computation of non-homogeneous, wall-bounded flows.

Large-eddy simulation (LES) has proven to be a computationally tractable approach to simulate unsteady turbulent flows. However, prohibitive resolution requirements induced by near-wall eddies in high-Reynolds number boundary layers necessitate the use of wall models or approximate wall boundary conditions. We review recent investigations in wall-modeled LES, including the development of novel approximate boundary conditions and the application of wall models to complex flows (e.g., boundary-layer separation, shock/boundary-layer interactions, transition). We also assess the validity of underlying assumptions in wall-model derivations to elucidate the accuracy of these investigations, and offer suggestions for future studies.

We describe and characterize a method for estimating the pressure field corresponding to velocity field measurements such as those obtained by using particle image velocimetry. The pressure gradient is estimated from a time series of velocity fields for unsteady calculations or from a single velocity field for quasi-steady calculations. The corresponding pressure field is determined based on median polling of several integration paths through the pressure gradient field in order to reduce the effect of measurement errors that accumulate along individual integration paths. Integration paths are restricted to the nodes of the measured velocity field, thereby eliminating the need for measurement interpolation during this step and significantly reducing the computational cost of the algorithm relative to previous approaches. The method is validated by using numerically simulated flow past a stationary, two-dimensional bluff body and a computational model of a three-dimensional, selfpropelled anguilliform swimmer to study the effects of spatial and temporal resolution, domain size, signal-to-noise ratio and out-ofplane effects. Particle image velocimetry measurements of a freely swimming jellyfish medusa and a freely swimming lamprey are analyzed using the method to demonstrate the efficacy of the approach when applied to empirical data.

Wall models for large-eddy simulation (LES) are a necessity to remove the prohibitive resolution requirements of near-wall turbulence in high Reynolds turbulent flows. Traditional wall models often rely on assumptions about the local state of the boundary layer (e.g., logarithmic velocity profiles) and require a priori prescription of tunable model coefficients. In the present study, a slip velocity boundary condition for the filtered velocity field is obtained from the derivation of the LES equations using a differential filter. A dynamic procedure for the local slip length is additionally formulated making the slip velocity wall model free of any a priori specified coefficients. The accuracy of the dynamic slip velocity wall model is tested in a series of turbulent channel flows at varying Reynolds numbers and in the LES of a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 4412 airfoil at near-stall conditions. The wall-modeled simulations are able to accurately predict mean flow characteristics, including the formation of a trailing-edge separation bubble in NACA 4412 configuration. The validation cases demonstrate the effectiveness of this wall-modeling approach in both attached and separated flow regimes.

The governing equations for large-eddy simulation are derived from the application of a low-pass filter to the Navier–Stokes equations. It is often assumed that discrete operations performed on a particular grid act as an implicit filter, causing results to be sensitive to the mesh resolution. Alternatively, explicit filtering separates the filtering operation, and hence the resolved turbulence, from the underlying mesh distribution alleviating some of the grid sensitivities. We investigate the use of explicit filtering in large-eddy simulation in order to obtain numerical solutions that are grid independent. The convergence of simulations using a fixed filter width with varying mesh resolutions to a true large-eddy simulation solution is analyzed for a turbulent channel flow at Reτ=180, 395, and 640. By using explicit filtering, turbulent statistics and energy spectra are shown to be independent of the mesh resolution used.

Wall modelling in large-eddy simulation (LES) is necessary to overcome the prohibitive near-wall resolution requirements in high-Reynolds-number turbulent flows. Most existing wall models rely on assumptions about the state of the boundary layer and require a priori prescription of tunable coefficients. They also impose the predicted wall stress by replacing the no-slip boundary condition at the wall with a Neumann boundary condition in the wall-parallel directions while maintaining the no-transpiration condition in the wall-normal direction. In the present study, we first motivate and analyse the Robin (slip) boundary condition with transpiration (nonzero wall-normal velocity) in the context of wall-modelled LES. The effect of the slip boundary condition on the one-point statistics of the flow is investigated in LES of turbulent channel flow and flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. It is shown that the slip condition provides a framework to compensate for the deficit or excess of mean momentum at the wall. Moreover, the resulting nonzero stress at the wall alleviates the well-known problem of the wall-stress under-estimation by current subgrid-scale (SGS) models . Secondly, we discuss the requirements for the slip condition to be used in conjunction with wall models and derive the equation that connects the slip boundary condition with the stress at the wall. Finally, a dynamic procedure for the slip coefficients is formulated, providing a dynamic slip wall model free of a priori specified coefficients. The performance of the proposed dynamic wall model is tested in a series of LES of turbulent channel flow at varying Reynolds numbers, non-equilibrium three-dimensional transient channel flow, and zeropressure-gradient flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. The results show that the dynamic wall model is able to accurately predict one-point turbulence statistics for various flow configurations, Reynolds numbers, and grid resolutions. †

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