Comparison of computational codes for direct numerical simulations of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

DOI10.1016/J.COMPFLUID.2018.01.010zbMATH Open1390.76181arXiv1802.09054OpenAlexW2789231469MaRDI QIDQ1649693FDOQ1649693

Authors: Gijs L. Kooij, E. M. A. Frederix, Susanne Horn, Detlef Lohse, Erwin P. van der Poel, Richard J. A. M. Stevens, R. Verzicco, Mike A. Botchev, Bernard Geurts, Olga Shishkina 

Publication date: 28 June 2018

Published in: Computers and Fluids (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Computational codes for direct numerical simulations of Rayleigh-B'enard (RB) convection are compared in terms of computational cost and quality of the solution. As a benchmark case, RB convection at $Ra=10^8$ and $Pr=1$ in a periodic domain, in cubic and cylindrical containers is considered. A dedicated second-order finite-difference code (AFID/RBflow) and a specialized fourth-order finite-volume code (Goldfish) are compared with a general purpose finite-volume approach (OpenFOAM) and a general purpose spectral-element code (Nek5000). Reassuringly, all codes provide predictions of the average heat transfer that converge to the same values. The computational costs, however, are found to differ considerably. The specialized codes AFID/RBflow and Goldfish are found to excel in efficiency, outperforming the general purpose flow solvers Nek5000 and OpenFOAM by an order of magnitude with an error on the Nusselt number $Nu$ below $5\mathrm{\%}$. However, we find that $Nu$ alone is not sufficient to assess the quality of the numerical results: in fact, instantaneous snapshots of the temperature field from a near wall region obtained for deliberately under-resolved simulations using Nek5000 clearly indicate inadequate flow resolution even when $Nu$ is converged. Overall, dedicated special purpose codes for RB convection are found to be more efficient than general purpose codes.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.09054

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zbMATH Keywords

heat transferdirect numerical simulationsRayleigh-Bénard convection

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Direct numerical and large eddy simulation of turbulence (76F65) Convective turbulence (76F35)

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Cited In (35)

• A FFT-based finite-difference solver for massively-parallel direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows
• Lighter and faster simulations on domains with symmetries
• Flow states and heat transport in Rayleigh–Bénard convection with different sidewall boundary conditions
• Twin forces: similarity between rotation and stratification effects on wall turbulence
• Natural convection in cylindrical containers with isothermal ring-shaped obstacles
• The effect of Prandtl number on turbulent sheared thermal convection
• Boundary zonal flows in rapidly rotating turbulent thermal convection
• Wall-sheared thermal convection: heat transfer enhancement and turbulence relaminarization
• A fast pressure-correction method for incompressible flows over curved walls
• Classical and symmetrical horizontal convection: detaching plumes and oscillations
• Morphology evolution of a melting solid layer above its melt heated from below
• Flow organisation in laterally unconfined Rayleigh-Bénard turbulence
• On numerical uncertainties in scale-resolving simulations of canonical wall turbulence
• Passive scalar transport in Couette flow
• STREAmS: A high-fidelity accelerated solver for direct numerical simulation of compressible turbulent flows
• Comparative study of spectral-element and finite-volume solvers for direct numerical simulation of synthetic jets
• Data‐driven identification of the spatiotemporal structure of turbulent flows by streaming dynamic mode decomposition
• Dynamics and length scales in vertical convection of liquid metals
• Spatial and spectral characteristics of information flux between turbulent boundary layers and porous media
• Determining \textit{a priori} a RANS model's applicable range via global epistemic uncertainty quantification
• Stabilizing/destabilizing the large-scale circulation in turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection with sidewall temperature control
• Particle transport and deposition in wall-sheared thermal turbulence
• Cost vs accuracy: DNS of turbulent flow over a sphere using structured immersed-boundary, unstructured finite-volume, and spectral-element methods
• On Lagrangian properties of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection
• Lyapunov exponents of two stochastic Lorenz 63 systems
• Generation of zonal flows in convective systems by travelling thermal waves
• Data-driven spectral turbulence modelling for Rayleigh–Bénard convection
• A POD/Galerkin model from eigenfunctions of non-converged Newton iterations in a convection problem
• Scaling relations for heat and momentum transport in sheared Rayleigh-Bénard convection
• Confined inclined thermal convection in low-Prandtl-number fluids
• Taylor series error correction network for super-resolution of discretized partial differential equation solutions
• What Rayleigh numbers are achievable under Oberbeck-Boussinesq conditions?
• A systematic study of the grid requirements for a spectral element method solver
• Flow organization and heat transfer in turbulent wall sheared thermal convection
• Performance of parallel-in-time integration for Rayleigh Bénard convection

Uses Software

• OpenFOAM
• Nek5000
• AFiD_GPU
• RBflow
• Goldfish
• AFiD

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