APPLICATION OF REYNOLDS-STRESS TRANSPORT MODELS TO STERN AND WAKE FLOWS

The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved to assess the importance of the turbulence model in the prediction of ship stern an d wake flows. Solutions are obtained with a two-equation scalar turbul ence model and a seven-equation Reynolds-stress tensor model, both of which resolve the flow up to the wall, holding invariant all aspects o f the numerical method, including solution domain, initial and boundar y conditions, and grid topology and density. Calculations are carried out for two tanker forms used as test cases at recent workshops, and s olutions are compared with each other and with experimental data. The comparisons reveal that the Reynolds-stress model accurately predicts most of the experimentally observed flow features in the stern and nea r-wake regions whereas the two-equation model predicts only the overal l qualitative trends. In particular, solutions with the Reynolds-stres s model clarify the origin of the stern vortex.