Under-resolved and large eddy simulations of a decaying Taylor–Green vortex with the cumulant lattice Boltzmann method

Abstract

AbstractWe present a comprehensive analysis of the cumulant lattice Boltzmann model with the three-dimensional Taylor–Green vortex benchmark at Reynolds number 1600. The cumulant model is investigated in several different variants, using regularization, fourth-order convergent diffusion and fourth-order convergent advection with and without limiters. In addition, a cumulant model combined with a WALE sub-grid scale model is being evaluated. The turbulence model is found to filter out the high wave number contributions from the energy spectrum and the enstrophy, while the non-filtered cumulant methods show good correspondence to spectral simulations even for the high wave numbers. The application of the WALE turbulence model appears to be counter productive for the Taylor–Green vortex at a Reynolds number of 1600. At much higher Reynolds numbers ($${\hbox {Re}}=160{,}000$$ Re = 160 , 000 ) a deviation from the ideal Kolmogorov theory can be observed in the absence of an explicit turbulence model. Cumulant models with fourth-order convergent diffusion show much better results than single relaxation time methods.