Stencil adaptation properties of a WENO scheme in direct numerical simulations of compressible turbulence

Weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) methods can simultaneously provide the high order of accuracy, high bandwidth-resolving efficiency, and shock-capturing capability required for the detailed simulation of compressible turbulence. However, rigorous analysis of the actual versus theoretical error properties of these non-linear numerical methods is difficult. We use a band-width-optimized WENO scheme to conduct direct numerical simulations of two- and three-dimensional decaying isotropic turbulence, and we evaluate the performance of quantitative indicators of local WENO adaptation behavior within the resulting flow fields. One aspect of this assessment is the demarcation of shock-containing and smooth regions where the WENO method should, respectively, engage its adaptation mechanism and revert to its linear optimal stencil. Our results show that these indicators, when synthesized properly, call provide valuable quantitative information suitable for statistical characterization.