Influence of the turbulence representation at the inlet on the downstream flow pattern in LES of backward-facing step

Abstract

The impact of the choice of inlet boundary condition treatment on the fluid flow is studied in this work. The correct representation of the turbulence at the inlet to the domain is essential for the accuracy of Large Eddy Simulation. The inappropriate specification of the inlet velocity has significant effect on the downstream flow pattern. The case of backward-facing step was used as a test case. Three different approaches of the inlet boundary conditions were studied: uniform velocity profile, mean velocity profile of the fully developed channel flow and velocity obtained from mapping velocity from plane positioned behind the inlet back to the inlet. The results of the simulations were compared with experimental results. It has shown, that using uniform velocity profile on inlet and even prescribing turbulent mean velocity profile without proper representation of turbulence fluctuations leads to unrealistic results.