Simulation of Swirling Flow with a Vortex Breakdown Using Modified Shear Stress Transport Model

The well-known Shear Stress Transport (SST k–ω) turbulence model was modified and examined. Two industrially relevant problems with curved and rotating channels have been selected to assess the modification potential: a rotating lid in a confined cylinder and swirling flow through a three-dimensional abrupt expansion pipe. The postulated amendment simplified the rotation and curvature correction term that was suggested earlier by Smirnov and Menter [J. Turbomach. 2009, 131 (4) 041010]. The new formulation avoids the calculation of the complex Lagrangian derivatives by implementing the Richardson number (Ri) in the applied rotation function. The numerical computations were performed using OpenFOAM-2.4.x. The results show the expected capability of the Shear Stress Transport model with Curvature Correction Modification (SSTCCM) to handle the curvature effects and system rotation. The paper compares the SSTCCM model with the conventional eddy viscosity models (EVMs): standard k–ϵ; Re-Normalization Group (RNG) k–ϵ, and the original SST k–ω.