Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulation of turbulent annular Poiseulle flow

Abstract

Turbulent annular Poiseulle flow is commonly encountered in various engineering applications, such as heat exchangers. The effects of the inner wall transverse curvature on the flowfield, characterised by the ratio of inner and outer radii $η= R_{i}/R_{o}$, have been studied previously using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). Scale-resolving simulations based on a Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes framework offer a potentially cheaper alternative to traditional Large Eddy Simulations (LES); however it is not clear if such models are able to capture the turbulence anisotropy in the turbulent annular pipe flow. In the present study, turbulent annular Poiseulle flow at $Re_{D_{h}} = 8900$ is performed with the Partially-Averaged Navier Stokes (PANS) model, a variable-resolution turbulence model that is based on the conventional RANS modelling. The ability of the PANS model to capture the effects of the transverse wall curvature is found to be comparable with DNS and other RANS-based scale-resolving approaches despite its relative simplicity and reduced computational cost.