EVALUATION OF REYNOLDS STRESS TURBULENCE CLOSURES IN COMPRESSIBLE HOMOGENEOUS SHEAR-FLOW

Direct numerical simulation data bases for compressible homogeneous sh ear flow are used to evaluate the performance of recently proposed Rey nolds stress closures for compressible turbulence. Three independent p ressure-strain models are considered along with a variety of explicit compressible corrections that account for dilatational dissipation and pressure-dilatation effects. The ability of the models to predict bot h time evolving fields and equilibrium states is systematically tested . Consistent with earlier studies, it is found that the addition of si mple dilatational models allows for the prediction of the reduced grow th rate of turbulent kinetic energy in compressible homogeneous shear flow. However, a closer examination of the equilibrium structural para meters uncovers a major problem. None of the models are able to predic t the dramatic increase in the normal Reynolds stress anisotropies or the significant decrease in the Reynolds shear stress anisotropy that arise from compressible effects. The physical origin of this deficienc y is attributed to the neglect of compressible terms in the modeling o f the deviatoric part of the pressure-strain correlation.