Branko Kosovic

A Large Eddy Simulation Study of a Quasi-Steady, Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Abstract Using the large eddy simulation (LES) technique, the authors study a clear-air, stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) as it approaches a quasi-steady state. The Beaufort Sea Arctic Stratus Experiment (BASE) dataset is used to impose initial and boundary conditions. The authors explore the parameter space of the boundary layer by varying latitude, surface cooling rate, geostrophic wind, inversion strength, and surface roughness. Recognizing the critical dependence of the results of LES on the subgrid-scale (SGS) model, they test and use a nonlinear SGS model, which is capable of reproducing the effects of backscatter of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and of the SGS anisotropies characteristic for shear-driven flows. In order to conduct a long-term LES so that an ABL can reach a quasi-steady state, a parallel computer code is developed and simulations with a spatial domain of up to 963 grid points are performed. The authors analyze the evolution of the mean wind, potential temperature,...

Subgrid-scale modelling for the large-eddy simulation of high-Reynolds-number boundary layers

It has been recognized that the subgrid-scale (SGS) parameterization represents a critical component of a successful large-eddy simulation (LES). Commonly used linear SGS models produce erroneous mean velocity profiles in LES of high-Reynolds-number boundary layer flows. Although recently proposed approaches to solving this problem have resulted in significant improvements, questions about the true nature of the SGS problem in shear-driven high-Reynolds-number flows remain open.We argue that the SGS models must capture inertial transfer effects including backscatter of energy as well as its redistribution among the normal SGS stress components. These effects are the consequence of nonlinear interactions and anisotropy. In our modelling procedure we adopt a phenomenological approach whereby the SGS stresses are related to the resolved velocity gradients. We show that since the SGS stress tensor is not frame indifferent a more general nonlinear model can be applied to the SGS parameterization. We develop a nonlinear SGS model capable of reproducing the effects of SGS anisotropy characteristic for shear-driven boundary layers. The results obtained using the nonlinear model for the LES of a neutral shear-driven atmospheric boundary layer show a significant improvement in prediction of the non-dimensional shear and low-order statistics compared to the linear Smagorinsky-type models. These results also demonstrate a profound effect of the SGS model on the flow structures.

Direct numerical simulation of decaying compressible turbulence and shocklet statistics

We present results from 1283 and 2563 direct numerical simulations (DNS) of decaying compressible, isotropic turbulence at fluctuation Mach numbers of Mt∼0.1–0.5 and at Taylor Reynolds numbers Reλ=O(50–100). The presence or absence of fluctuations of thermodynamic quantities as well as velocity divergence in the initial conditions are found to have a negligible effect on the decay of turbulent kinetic energy. The decay of the turbulent kinetic energy shows no significant effect of Mt and power laws fitted to the timewise decay exhibit exponents n=1.3–1.7 that are similar to those found for decaying incompressible turbulence. The main new phenomenon produced by compressibility is the appearance of random shocklets which form during the main part of the decay. An algorithm is developed to extract and quantify the shocklet statistics from the DNS fields. A model for the probability density function (PDF) of the shocklet strength Mn−1 (Mn is the normal shock Mach number) is derived based on combining weak-sho...

Source Inversion for Contaminant Plume Dispersion in Urban Environments Using Building-Resolving Simulations

Abstract The ability to determine the source of a contaminant plume in urban environments is crucial for emergency-response applications. Locating the source and determining its strength based on downwind concentration measurements, however, are complicated by the presence of buildings that can divert flow in unexpected directions. High-resolution flow simulations are now possible for predicting plume evolution in complex urban geometries, where contaminant dispersion is affected by the flow around individual buildings. Using Bayesian inference via stochastic sampling algorithms with a high-resolution computational fluid dynamics model, an atmospheric release event can be reconstructed to determine the plume source and release rate based on point measurements of concentration. Event-reconstruction algorithms are applied first for flow around a prototype isolated building (a cube) and then using observations and flow conditions from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during the Joint Urban 2003 field campaign. Stoch...

Subgrid-scale modeling for large-eddy simulations of compressible turbulence

We present two phenomenological subgrid-scale (SGS) models for large-eddy simulations (LES) of compressible turbulent flows. A nonlinear model and a stretched-vortex model are tested in LES of compressible decaying isotropic turbulence. Results of LES at 323, 483, and 643 resolution are compared to corresponding 2563 direct numerical simulations (DNS) at a turbulent Mach number, Mt∼0.4. We use numerical schemes based on compact finite differences and study the effects of their order of accuracy on LES results. Both models give satisfactory agreement with DNS for the decay of the total turbulent kinetic energy. The probability densities (pdf) of energy transfer to subgrid scales obtained from filtered DNS and the SGS models are compared. Both models produce a narrower distribution of energy transfer than corresponding filtered DNS data, with less backscatter. The pdf of the alignment of components of the subgrid stress tensor and the eigenvectors of the rate-of-strain tensor obtained from the models reprod...

Implementation of a Nonlinear Subfilter Turbulence Stress Model for Large-Eddy Simulation in the Advanced Research WRF Model

Abstract Two formulations of a nonlinear turbulence subfilter-scale (SFS) stress model were implemented into the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting model (ARW-WRF) version 3.0 for improved large-eddy simulation performance. The new models were evaluated against the WRF model’s standard Smagorinsky and 1.5-order turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) linear eddy-viscosity SFS stress models in simulations of geostrophically forced, neutral boundary layer flow over both flat terrain and a shallow, symmetric transverse ridge. Comparisons of simulation results with similarity profiles indicate that the nonlinear models significantly improve agreement with the expected profiles near the surface, reducing the overprediction of near-surface stress characteristic of linear eddy-viscosity models with no near-wall damping. Comparisons of simulations conducted using different mesh sizes indicate that the nonlinear model simulations at coarser resolutions agree more closely with the higher-resolution results ...

Bridging the Transition from Mesoscale to Microscale Turbulence in Numerical Weather Prediction Models

With a focus towards developing multiscale capabilities in numerical weather prediction models, the specific problem of the transition from the mesoscale to the microscale is investigated. For that purpose, idealized one-way nested mesoscale to large-eddy simulation (LES) experiments were carried out using the Weather Research and Forecasting model framework. It is demonstrated that switching from one-dimensional turbulent diffusion in the mesoscale model to three-dimensional LES mixing does not necessarily result in an instantaneous development of turbulence in the LES domain. On the contrary, very large fetches are needed for the natural transition to turbulence to occur. The computational burden imposed by these long fetches necessitates the development of methods to accelerate the generation of turbulence on a nested LES domain forced by a smooth mesoscale inflow. To that end, four new methods based upon finite amplitude perturbations of the potential temperature field along the LES inflow boundaries are developed, and investigated under convective conditions. Each method accelerated the development of turbulence within the LES domain, with two of the methods resulting in a rapid generation of production and inertial range energy content associated to microscales that is consistent with non-nested simulations using periodic boundary conditions. The cell perturbation approach, the simplest and most efficient of the best performing methods, was investigated further under neutral and stable conditions. Successful results were obtained in all the regimes, where satisfactory agreement of mean velocity, variances and turbulent fluxes, as well as velocity and temperature spectra, was achieved with reference non-nested simulations. In contrast, the non-perturbed LES solution exhibited important energy deficits associated to a delayed establishment of fully-developed turbulence. The cell perturbation method has negligible computational cost, significantly accelerates the generation of realistic turbulence, and requires minimal parameter tuning, with the necessary information relatable to mean inflow conditions provided by the mesoscale solution.

Bayesian Inference and Markov Chain Monte Carlo Sampling to Reconstruct a Contaminant Source on a Continental Scale

Abstract A methodology combining Bayesian inference with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling is applied to a real accidental radioactive release that occurred on a continental scale at the end of May 1998 near Algeciras, Spain. The source parameters (i.e., source location and strength) are reconstructed from a limited set of measurements of the release. Annealing and adaptive procedures are implemented to ensure a robust and effective parameter-space exploration. The simulation setup is similar to an emergency response scenario, with the simplifying assumptions that the source geometry and release time are known. The Bayesian stochastic algorithm provides likely source locations within 100 km from the true source, after exploring a domain covering an area of approximately 1800 km × 3600 km. The source strength is reconstructed with a distribution of values of the same order of magnitude as the upper end of the range reported by the Spanish Nuclear Security Agency. By running the Bayesian MCMC algorit...

Resolved Turbulence Characteristics in Large-Eddy Simulations Nested within Mesoscale Simulations Using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model

AbstractOne-way concurrent nesting within the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) is examined for conducting large-eddy simulations (LES) nested within mesoscale simulations. Wind speed, spectra, and resolved turbulent stresses and turbulence kinetic energy from the nested LES are compared with data from nonnested simulations using periodic lateral boundary conditions. Six different subfilter-scale (SFS) stress models are evaluated using two different nesting strategies under geostrophically forced flow over both flat and hilly terrain. Neutral and weakly convective conditions are examined. For neutral flow over flat terrain, turbulence appears on the nested LES domains only when using the two dynamic SFS stress models. The addition of small hills and valleys (wavelengths of 2.4 km and maximum slopes of ± 10°) yields small improvements, with all six models producing some turbulence on nested domains. Weak convection (surface heat fluxes of 10 W m−2) further accelerates the development of turbulen...

Implementation of a generalized actuator disk wind turbine model into the weather research and forecasting model for large-eddy simulation applications

A generalized actuator disk (GAD) wind turbine parameterization designed for large-eddy simulation (LES) applications was implemented into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. WRF-LES with the GAD model enables numerical investigation of the effects of an operating wind turbine on and interactions with a broad range of atmospheric boundary layer phenomena. Numerical simulations using WRF-LES with the GAD model were compared with measurements obtained from the Turbine Wake and Inflow Characterization Study (TWICS-2011), the goal of which was to measure both the inflow to and wake from a 2.3-MW wind turbine. Data from a meteorological tower and two light-detection and ranging (lidar) systems, one vertically profiling and another operated over a variety of scanning modes, were utilized to obtain forcing for the simulations, and to evaluate characteristics of the simulated wakes. Simulations produced wakes with physically consistent rotation and velocity deficits. Two surface heat flux values of ...