REYNOLDS-AVERAGED NAVIER–

STOKES EQUATIONS

Gabire Tseganeh Wabela比瑞(184218006)

Sodabunlu Ativich威奇 (184818023)
Hammarratchata Chayuttra茶羽(184218013)
Osborne
Reynolds

O. Reynolds (circa 1880) was the first to systematically investigate the transition from laminar to turbulent flow by
injecting a dye streak into flow through a pipe having smooth transparent walls. His observations led to identification of a
single dimensionless parameter, now called the Reynolds number, and denoted Re,
𝜌𝑈𝐿
𝑅𝑒 = , that completely characterizes flow behavior in this situation. 𝜌 and 𝜇 are the fluid properties density and
𝜇
dynamic viscosity. 𝑈 is a velocity scale, and 𝐿 is a typical length scale.
 Osborne Reynolds's apparatus of 1883 demonstrating
the onset of turbulent flow. The apparatus is still at the
University of Manchester1 Reynolds’ sketch of transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow.
Diagram from Reynolds's 1883 paper showing onset of turbulent
1 Reynolds, flow
O., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society, 174 (1883), 935
 1
𝑈𝑡 + 𝑈. ∇𝑈 = −∇𝑃 + ∆𝑈 + 𝐹෨𝐵
𝑅𝑒

where pressure will have been scaled

1
by twice the dynamic pressure, 𝜌𝑈 2 ,
2
and 𝐹෨𝐵 is a dimensionless body force,
often termed as Grashof number in
mathematical treatments. One can see
from the equation that in the absence
of body forces 𝑅𝑒 is the only parameter
in the N.-S. equations; hence setting its
value prescribes the solution.

The Reynolds experiment; (a) laminar flow, (b) early

transitional (but still laminar) flow, and (c) turbulence.
Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations
• The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (or RANS equations) are time-averaged Navier–
Stokes equations of motion for fluid flow.
• Navier–Stokes equations are useful because they describe the physics of many phenomena of
scientific and engineering interest. They may be used to model the weather, ocean currents,
water flow in a pipe and air flow around a wing. The Navier–Stokes equations, in their full
and simplified forms, help with the design of aircraft and cars, the study of blood flow, the
design of power stations, the analysis of pollution, and many other things. Coupled with
Maxwell's equations, they can be used to model and study magnetohydrodynamics.
• The equation is a generalization of the equation devised by Swiss
mathematician Leonhard Euler in the 18th century to describe the flow of incompressible
and frictionless fluids.
The properties of the Navier-Stokes equations
1.Nonlinearity
• The Navier–Stokes equations are nonlinear partial differential equations in
the general case and so remain in almost every real situation.

• The nonlinearity makes most problems difficult or impossible to solve and is

the main contributor to the turbulence that the equations model.
 The properties of the Navier-Stokes equations
2.Turbulence
• Turbulence is the time-dependent chaotic behavior seen in many fluid flows. It is generally
believed that it is due to the inertia of the fluid as a whole: the culmination of time-dependent and
convective acceleration; hence flows where inertial effects are small tend to be laminar
(the Reynolds number quantifies how much the flow is affected by inertia). It is believed, though
not known with certainty, that the Navier–Stokes equations describe turbulence properly .

It is often claimed that there is no good definition of

turbulence. One of the best known of these is due to
Richardson, in 1922. He famously summarized turbulence
in rhyming verse in Weather Prediction by Numerical
Process (p 66)

Turbulence phenomena were termed “turbolenza” by da Vinci, and hence the origin of our modern word for this
type of fluid flow
Mathematical Model and coordinate of Navier-Stoke equations
• The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (or RANS equations) are time-averaged equations of motion
for fluid flow. The idea behind the equations is Reynolds decomposition, whereby an instantaneous quantity is
decomposed into its time-averaged and fluctuating quantities, an idea first proposed by Osborne Reynolds. The
RANS equations are primarily used to describe turbulent flows.

• Ensemble (time) averaging may be used to extract the mean flow properties from the instantaneous ones

• The basic tool required for the derivation of the RANS equations from the instantaneous Navier–Stokes equations is
the Reynolds decomposition. Reynolds decomposition refers to separation of the flow variable (like velocity u) into
ത ) and the fluctuating component (𝑢′ )
the mean (time-averaged) component (𝑢

• Averaging can be performed to extract the large-scale dynamics of the flow field.
 ∇. 𝑈 = 0
Derivation of the RANS 𝑈𝑡 + 𝑈. ∇𝑈 = −∇𝑃 + 𝑣∆𝑈

- Reynolds (1895) decomposed the velocity field into a

time average motion and a turbulent fluctuation

v x (x, y, z,  )  Vx (x, y, z)  v (x, y, z,  )

'
x

- Likewise

f   f ,

f stands for any scalar: vx, vy, , vz, T, p, where:

1   

  f d

Time averaged component

 Time Averaging Operations
Ensemble (time) averaging may be used to extract
the mean flow properties from the instantaneous
 f' 0  f'   ones

f '  0

f1f2  (1  f '1 )( 2  f '2 )  1 2  f '1 f '2

divf  div 

div (f1f2 )  div (1 2 )  div (f1'f2' )

𝑢𝑖 (𝑿, 𝑡) --- momentary velocity
𝑢ത 𝑖 (𝑿, 𝑡)--- the time-averaged value
div ( gradf )  div grad  𝑢𝑖′ (𝑿, 𝑡)---the fluctuating velocity
 Averaging Navier Stokes equations
p  P p ,
ρ ρ ρ , Substitute into Navier Stokes equations
vx  Vx  vx '
v y  Vy  v y ' Instantaneous velocity

vz  Vz  vz ' fluctuation
around
average
T T T' Average
velocity
velocity
Continuity equation: time
v x v y v z (Vx  v x ' ) (Vy  v y ' ) (Vz  v z ' ) Vx Vy Vz v x ' v y ' v z '
           0
x y z x y z x y z x y z
Average whole equation: 0 0 0 Average
Vx Vy Vz v x ' v y ' v z ' Vx Vy Vz v x ' v y ' v z '
     0      0 Vx Vy Vz
x y z x y z x y z x y z   0
x y z
Average of average = average Average of fluctuation = 0
Example: Time Averaging
High speed regions
Writing continuity equations in a short format:

v x v x v x v x p  2vx  2vx 2vx

ρ(  vx  vy  vz )    μ 2  μ 2  μ 2  Sx
τ x y z x x y z Instantaneous

   
v  vx i  v y j  vz k

v x v x v x   
vx  vy  vz  div ( v x v )  v x div v  div ( v x v )
x y z
=0 continuity
 2vx  2vx 2vx Time-Averaged
 2   2   2  μ div(grad v x )
x y z
Short format of continuity equation in x direction:

v x  p
ρ(  div(v x v ))    μ div(grad v x )  S
τ x x
Averaging of Momentum Equation
v x  p
ρ(  div(v x v ))    μ div(grad v x )  Sx
τ x
averaging
v x  p
ρ  ρ div(v x v )    μ div(grad v x )  Sx
τ x
0
v x  (Vx  v' x )  (Vx  v' x ) Vx Vx
ρ ρ ρ ρ ρ
τ τ τ τ τ
   v ' '
v  v ' '
x vy v 'x v 'z
div ( v x v )  div (Vx V)  div ( v x v )  div (Vx V) 
' ' x x
 
x y z
      
div ( v v )  div ( v (v i  v j  v k))  div ((v v i  v v j  v v k)) 
'
x
' '
x
'
x
'
y
'
z
'
x
'
x
'
x
'
y
'
x
'
z

v 'x v 'x v x v y v 'x v 'z

' '

  
x y z

div(grad v x )  div(grad Vx )  div(grad V x )

Time Averaged Momentum Equation
Instantaneous velocity
v x v x v x v x p  2vx  2vx 2vx
ρ(  vx  vy  vz )    μ 2  μ 2  μ 2  Sx
τ x y z x x y z
Average velocities
Vx Vx Vx Vx P  2 Vx  2 Vx  2 Vx v'x v'x v'x v'y v'x v'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sx
τ x y z x x y z x y z

Reynolds stresses
For y and z direction:

Vy Vy Vy VyP  2 Vy  2 Vy  2 Vy v 'y v 'x v 'y v 'y v 'y v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ μ μ ρ ρ ρ  Sy
τ x y z x x 2 y 2 z 2 x y z

Vz Vz Vz Vz P  2 Vz  2 Vz  2 Vz v 'z v 'x v 'z v 'y v 'z v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ μ μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sz
τ x y z x x 2 y 2 z x y z

Total nine
 Time Averaged Continuity Equation
Instantaneous velocities
The Navier–Stokes equations, which are now
v x v y v z
  0 almost universally believed to embody the
x y z physics of all fluid flows (within the confines of
Averaged velocities the continuum hypothesis), including turbulent
ones, were introduced in the early to mid 19th
Vx Vy Vz Century by Navier and Stokes.
  0
x y z
Time Averaged Energy Equation
Instantaneous temperatures and velocities
T T T T  2T  2T  2T
ρc p (  Vx  Vy  Vz )  k 2 k 2 k 2 Φq
τ x y z x y z
Averaged temperatures and velocities

T T T T  2T  2T  2T T v x T v y T v z
' ' ' ' ' '

ρc p (  Vx  Vy  Vz )  k 2  k 2  k 2  ρ ρ ρ Φq
τ x y z x y z x y z
Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes
equations
Vx Vy Vz Reynolds stresses
  0 total 9 - 6 are unknown
x y z

Vx Vx Vx Vx P  2 Vx  2 Vx  2 Vx v 'x v 'x v 'x v 'y v 'x v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sx
τ x y z x x y z x y z
same
Vy Vy Vy Vy P  2 Vy  2 Vy  2 Vy v'y v 'x v 'y v'y v'y v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sy
τ x y z x x y z x y z

Vz Vz Vz Vz P  2 Vz  2 Vz  2 Vz v 'z v'x v 'z v 'y v 'z v'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sz
τ x y z x x y z x y z

Total 4 equations and 4 + 6 = 10 unknowns

We need to model the Reynolds stresses !
ugaz@tamu.edu
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
• Applicability
The Navier–Stokes equations assume that the fluid being studied is a continuum (it is infinitely
divisible and not composed of particles such as atoms or molecules), and is not moving at relativistic
velocities. At very small scales or under extreme conditions, real fluids made out of discrete molecules will
produce results different from the continuous fluids modeled by the Navier–Stokes equations.

Currently, The Navier–Stokes equations are used extensively in video games in order to model
a wide variety of natural phenomena. Simulations of small-scale gaseous fluids, such as fire and smoke,
are often based on the seminal paper "Real-Time Fluid Dynamics for Games" by Jos Stam
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Single-Equation Model: Spalart-Allmaras:

• Spalart-Allmaras is a low-cost RANS model solving a

transport equation for a modified eddy viscosity
• When in modified form, the eddy viscosity is easy to
resolve near the wall
• Mainly intended for aerodynamic/turbomachinery
applications with mild separation, such as supersonic/
trasonic flows airfoils, boundary -layer flows, etc.
• Embodies a relatively new class of one-equation models
where it is not necessary to calculate a length scale related
to the local shear layer thickness
• Designed specifically for aerospace applications involving
wall-bounded flows
• Has been shown to give good results for boundary
Limitations of Spalart-Allmaras include: layers subjected to adverse pressure gradients.
 Shear flows
 Under predicting separation
 Decaying turbulence
 Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-epsilon, Realizable k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon

 Standard k–ε (SKE) model

 The most widely-used engineering turbulence model
for industrial applications
 Robust and reasonably accurate
 Contains submodels for compressibility, buoyancy,
combustion, etc.

Figure 2 Turbulent flow around a car-like model calculated in COMSOL using a k-epsilon model. (Image courtesy of COMSOL.)

Limitations:
 No-slip walls
 Adverse pressure gradients
 Strong curvatures
 Jet flows
 Difficulty solving for epsilon
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-omega and SST k-omega

 The k–ω Turbulence Models

 The model equations do not contain terms
which are undefined at the wall, i.e. they
can be integrated to the wall without using
wall functions.
 They are accurate and robust for a wide
range of boundary layer flows with pressure
gradient.

Figure 3 Left: Simulation of a turbulent flow modeled with the shear stress transport (SST) k-omega turbulence model in Altair AcuSolve. Right: Comparison of the convergence rate for the model solved
using Spalart-Allmaras, SST k-omega and standard k-omega model

Limitations of k-omega include:

 Difficulty of convergence compared to k-epsilon
 Sensitivity to initial conditions
Obama@ MIT. Navier-Stokes equation.