QUANTIFICATION AND PROPAGATION OF MODEL-FORM UNCERTAINTIES IN RANS TURBULENCE MODELING VIA INTRUSIVE POLYNOMIAL CHAOS

Undeterred by its inherent limitations, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based modeling is still considered the most recognized approach for several computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications. Recently, in the turbu-lence modeling community, quantification of model-form uncertainties in RANS has attracted significant interest. We present a stochastic RANS solver with an efficient implementation of the intrusive polynomial chaos (IPC) method in OpenFOAM. The stochastic solver quantifies and propagates the uncertainties associated with the output of the RANS model (eddy viscosity or Reynolds stress tensor). Two distinct high-dimensional variants of the uncertainties are considered, namely, the random eddy viscosity field (REVF) and the random Reynolds stress tensor field (RRSTF). The randomness is introduced in the approximated eddy viscosity field and the Reynolds stress tensor, while asserting the realizability. The stochastic RANS solver has been tested on various benchmark problems for RANS turbulence modeling. In this study, we discuss two important problems where the stochastic RANS solver shows significantly better performance than the traditional uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods. The first problem analyzed is the flow over periodic hills with a REVF, while the second stochastic problem considered is the flow in a square duct with a RRSTF. Along with the comparison for three different RANS turbulence models, a detailed analysis of the stochastic solver based on various influential model parameters is also presented. The IPC based stochastic solver demonstrated the potential to be used in the UQ analysis of further complex CFD applications, especially when a large number of deterministic simulations is not feasible, e.g., wind farm CFD simulations.

Automated summary

Despite its limitations, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based modeling remains the most recognized approach for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications. Quantification of model-form uncertainties in RANS has recently gained significant interest in the turbulence modeling community. A stochastic RANS solver with an efficient implementation of the intrusive polynomial chaos (IPC) method is presented in this study, which quantifies and propagates uncertainties associated with the output of the RANS model. The stochastic solver has shown better performance than traditional uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods in benchmark problems.