Which y+ should I choose for which turbulence model?

by Alistair Field
on 10/29/2017
159 views
Categories: Wall-Treatment   •  Products: STAR-CCM+   •  Version Applicable: N/A   •  Article Number: 15636

Reasonable y+ values depend on the y+ wall treatment models of the selected turbulence model:

High y+ Wall Treatment| is essentially the classic wall-function approach, where wall shear stress, turbulent production and turbulent
dissipation are all derived from equilibrium turbulent boundary layer theory. A good rule of thumb is that the wall-cell centroid should
be situated in the logarithmic region of the boundary layer, that is 30<y+<50. It is often inevitable that a few cells have a small value
of y+, especially near stagnation or separation. This is acceptable.

Low y+ Wall Treatment is consistent with low-Reynolds number models. This wall treatment assumes that the viscous sublayer is
well resolved and thus wall laws are not needed. It should only be used if the entire mesh is fine enough for y+ to be approximately 1
or less.

All y+ Wall Treatment is a hybrid approach that seeks to represent the behaviors of the previous two wall treatments in the limit of
very fine or very coarse meshes. It is a design goal that this wall treatment should give results similar to the low-y+ treatment as y+
→ 0 and to the high-y+ treatment for y+ > 30. It will also give reasonable results for intermediate meshes where the cell centroid
falls in the buffer layer. However, the aim should be to have either y+<1 including a well resolved viscous sublayer or 30<y+<50. The
all-y+ wall treatment is the most general, and should be used whenever available.

See also:

How can I know what the y+ value of the wall cell will be when creating the grid?
How to mesh prism layers for effective y+ values
How can I graphically check the validity of my turbulence wall treatment model?

STAR-CCM+ User Guide sections:

Modeling Physics > Modeling Turbulence and Transition > Using Wall Treatment Models > What Is a Wall Treatment?
Modeling Physics > Modeling Turbulence and Transition > Using Wall Treatment Models > How Do I Decide on a Wall
Treatment?

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