Numerical Investigation of Internal Flow Transition Using Modified γ-Reθ Model

The numerical investigation of Transition is one of the challenging issues in turbulence modeling. In the present study, the coefficients of the γ-Reθ model are modified based on the physics of internal flow transition to capture the entrance length properly. To validate the model, the internal flow is simulated using six test cases. A 3D duct, two smooth axisymmetric pipes, a 3D stenosis pipe, two parallel plates, and the backward-facing step configurations are considered at different Reynolds numbers from 2´103 to 3´105. The flow variables, including the average velocity field, friction factor, fully developed friction factor, and the reattachment length are compared against the experimental, theoretical and large eddy simulation results. By comparing the results of average velocity against the semi-empirical relations and experimental data using new coefficients, it is observed the model can estimate the entrance length in accordance with experiments. The earlier coefficients lead to a reduction of entrance length by increasing the Reynolds number. Furthermore, the error percentages reduce by more than 7.6 and 26.7 percent using new coefficients rather than earlier models for fully developed friction factor and reattachment length, respectively.