• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.440-452
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• 1990

Comprehensive numberical computations have been made for four turbulent swirling jets with and without recirculation to critically evaluate the accuracy and universality of several exising turbulence models as well as of the modified k-.epsilon. model proposed in the present study. A numerical scheme based on the full Navier-Stoke equations ha been developed and used for this purpose. Inlet conditions are given by experiments, whenever possible, to minimize the error due to incorrect initial conditions. The standard k-.epsilon. model performs well for the strongly swirling jets with recirculation while it underpredicts the influence of swirl for weakly swirling jets. Rodi's swirl correction and algebraic stress model do not exhibit universality for the swirling jets. The present modified k-.epsilon. model derived from algebraic stress model accounts for anisotropy and streamline curvature effect on turbulence. This model performs consistently better than others for all cases. It may be because these flows have a strong dependence of stresses on the local strain of the mean flow. The predictions of truculence intensities indicate that this model successfully reflect the curvature effect in swirling jets, i.e. the stabilizing and destabilizing effects of swirl on turbulence transport.