Can we predict environmental and technological turbulent flows?

Dr. Stefan Heinz, Math Dept, University of Wyoming

Joint Seminar with the Mechanical Engineering Dept

The diagnosis and control of turbulent flows are highly relevant to the protection of our natural living conditions and many technological developments. To realize these tasks efficiently we need computational methods that are capable of providing both accurate and efficient prognoses of environmental and technological turbulent flows. Basic methodologies that are available for turbulent reacting flow computations will be described in the first part of the talk. The second part describes the current use of these methods for the calculation of flows of practical relevance. The capabilities of various types of turbulence models will be illustrated with regard to several environmental and technological flows: supersonic turbulent channel flow, convective atmospheric boundary layer and chemical reactor simulations will be discussed. These investigations demonstrate the value of currently applied computational methods for the analysis of turbulent reacting flows, but they also reveal the limited predictive power of these methods, this means such predictions require evidence for each flow considered. The question of how it is possible to develop prognosis methods that are both accurate and efficient will be addressed in the third part of the talk.