A Similarity Model of Subfilter-Scale Energy for Large-Eddy Simulations of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Scott T. Salesky, Marcelo Chamecki

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

A scale-similarity model to estimate the subfilter-scale energy using the trace of the Leonard stress tensor is proposed and evaluated for large-eddy simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The model is derived from a stability-dependent model of the energy spectrum in the ABL, which accounts for the effects of buoyancy and mean shear as a function of z/L, the Monin-Obukhov stability variable. An a priori test using ABL turbulence data demonstrates that the model has accurate performance for dimensionless filter widths of Δ/z = 2, 1, and 0. 5 for stabilities of -1 ≤ z/L ≤ 0. 5, and improves considerably upon a similar model that is derived using an infinite κ -5/3 spectrum. This improvement is especially significant in the first several grid points near the surface in large-eddy simulations of the ABL, where Δ/z is necessarily large. The modelling procedure is then extended to develop a similarity model for the subfilter-scale scalar variance; it is shown to have robust performance for temperature.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)69-91
Number of pages23
JournalBoundary-Layer Meteorology
Volume145
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Atmospheric Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Similarity Model of Subfilter-Scale Energy for Large-Eddy Simulations of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this