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On specification of initial conditions in turbulence models

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1042980
Recent research has shown that initial conditions have a significant influence on the evolution of a flow towards turbulence. This important finding offers a unique opportunity for turbulence control, but also raises the question of how to properly specify initial conditions in turbulence models. We study this problem in the context of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability is an interfacial fluid instability that leads to turbulence and turbulent mixing. It occurs when a light fluid is accelerated in to a heavy fluid because of misalignment between density and pressure gradients. The Rayleigh-Taylor instability plays a key role in a wide variety of natural and man-made flows ranging from supernovae to the implosion phase of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). Our approach consists of providing the turbulence models with a predicted profile of its key variables at the appropriate time in accordance to the initial conditions of the problem.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1042980
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-10-07989; LA-UR-10-7989
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English