Modeling Complex Turbulent Flows

This book focuses on four areas of current turbulence research: compressible turbulence, rotating turbulent flows and turbulent flows with significant mean streamline curvature, turbulent boundary layers in unfavorable pressure gradients, and statistically unsteady turbulent flows. Recent progress in the theoretical analysis and modeling of these flows is reviewed, and likely directions for future research on these topics are indicated.

This text is unusual in as much as it provides both general commentaries as well as recent specialized developments in the field of turbulence modeling. As such it provides access to both historically validated and accepted results and newer ideas and approaches to the problem of modeling turbulence. Specialized results relevant to the compressible and non-equilibrium nature of turbulence as well as turbulent flows subjected to rotation and mean pressure gradients are also treated. Also of interest, outside the traditional arena of single-point turbulence closures, are articles addressing spectral (two-point) closures, structure function closures, vortex methods and low dimensional models. This book is unique in that it provides a balanced perspective with an emphasis on both rigorous mathematical developments and a focus on engineering problems in a field traditionally dominated by empiricism.