Transactions on Engineering Sciences vol 9, © 1996 WIT Press, www.witpress.

com, ISSN 1743-3533

Compressible dissipation, pressure dilation and

pressure induced diffusion in hypersonic
turbulence modeling
J. Sager, R. Grundmann
Institute for Fluid Mechanics, Dresden University of Technology,
D-01062 Dresden, Germany

Abstract

A major problem for hypersonic reentry vehicles is the prediction of heat flux and
shear stress distribution on the vehicles surface. Experiments in this range of
speed are complex concerning the time left for measurements and the proper and
practical resolution of details of turbulent and transitional flow behaviour. This is
why numerical investigations become more and more important. To describe the
additional influence of compressibility at super and hypersonic speeds it is
necessary to involve certain terms in the set of governing equations like pressure
and density fluctuations. In turbulence theory only a minor amount of closure
models for these correlations arising from fluctuations of the density, the
temperature and the pressure are developed and prepared for practical use. Two
terms for the compressible dissipation and the pressure dilatation were
investigated by Sarkar and modeled by two algebraic equations. A third
compressibility term, the pressure induced diffusion, was developed by means of
gradient transport approximations and is reported here. An assumption for the
temperature density fluctuation correlation p'T leads to a model for this term.
Numerical experiments were carried out for a simulated transitional flow along a
flat plate in a Mach number range from 6 to 25. Investigations of the results by
performing a variety of preliminary computations show a strong influence of the
different parts of these compressibility terms. A regrettable lack of experimental
data over a wider range of Mach and Reynolds numbers and the uncertainty about
the free stream turbulence rates for the measured data made it necessary to
additionally make use of the laminar and a turbulent theories by Blasius and
Ludwig/Tillmann, respectively, to assess numerical results by matching methods.
To consider effects of compressibility the Chapman-Rubesin factor was applied to
these analytical functions describing the laminar and turbulent skin friction
coefficient.
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340 Advances in Fluid Mechanics

1 Governing Equations

The set of boundary layer equations, consisting of the momentum equations

extended by the conservation equations for mass and total energy for
compressible fluids, are solved numerically in a surface oriented coordinate
system.

conservation equation for mass

9x 9y 9z
momentum equation in x-direction
3u 9u 9u 9p 9 / -7— ;\
pu — + pv— + pw— = --il +— (T^-PUW'J (2)
dx dy dz dx dz \ '
momentum equation in y-direction
9v 9v 9v 9p 9 / -7— -\
pu— + pv— + pw— = -^ +— (ly.-pv'v/) (3)
9x 9y 9z 9y 9z ^ '
momentum equation in z-direction

conservation equation for total energy

9h
(5)
9x 9y 9z 9z^RePr9z Re Pr 9z

The viscous stresses are given by

9u 9u 9v 9v
^ = pv— = |i— T^ = pv—= ^i— . (6)
9z 9z 9z 9z
The dynamic viscosity |l may vary with temperature according to Keys' law for
the viscosity of air.
1488 10^ r-

T'ltf"
The pressure obeys the ideal gas equation of state.
p = RpT (8)
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Advances in Fluid Mechanics 341

2 Turbulence Model

To simulate the turbulent stresses pu'v/ and pvV for the turbulent viscosity %
a one- equation turbulence model, namely k-1-model, is applied.

v, = l-Vk (9)

While 1 is a characteristic length scale determined by means of empirical

relations, for the turbulent kinetic energy k a transport equation is solved.

Tr(pk)+T— [p^
dt d x^
(10)
; , , p __^
-i,9
= -P uftV
dXj.-+ PV^~
dx. <V ~- M. s*—
~
dX; dx^ *•

Effects of compressibility influencing the turbulence appear as so called

compressibility terms in the turbulent kinetic energy equation. These are the
pressure induced diffusion, the pressure dilatation and the density velocity
correlation, terms 4, 7 and 8 in equation (10), respectively. Further more the
dissipation term is considered to consist of a solenoidal and an additional
compressible part, which also belong to the compressibility terms but do not
appear explicitly in the turbulent kinetic energy equation.
To solve the set of equations it is necessary to develop algebraic models or
transport equations for the above mentioned terms. Here, the interest was focused
on these terms including pressure and density fluctuations which are usually
neglected in the past. However, with an increasing Mach number they gain
importance and a further neglecting might cause differences between
experimentally and computationally obtained results.

2.1 Compressibility Terms

2.1.1 Compressible Dissipation

The compressible dissipation is a term that arises from the compressibility effects
on the turbulent dissipation rate. Sarkar et al. [7] show that for compressible
turbulence the dissipation rate can be split into two components, the compressible
and the solenoidal dissipation e^ and e, , respectively.

pe = pe, + pe, (11)

The fact that the turbulent field and so e, is hardly influenced by a variation of
the turbulent Mach number leads to the assumption that the solenoidal dissipation
can be represented by the original equation for the dissipation rate, while the
compressible dissipation requires a separate model.
 Transactions on Engineering Sciences vol 9, © 1996 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3533
342 Advances in Fluid Mechanics

This model is of algebraic nature and was developed by Sarkar by means of

"Direct Numerical Simulation" (DNS). The value of the constant a is given by
Sarkar with 0.5, other authors [5] propose the value 1.0.
The total dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy results in the
following expression.

(13)

2.1.2 Pressure Dilatation

Another term that turned out to be important through the investigations of Sarkar
is the pressure dilatation term p' du[/dx. . This term appears explicitly in the total
energy conservation equation and in the equation for the turbulent kinetic energy.
The term is interpreted as an exchange term between the turbulent kinetic energy
k and the turbulent potential energy. Again the model was developed by Sarkar
using DNS and is also given in an algebraic form.

(14)

The turbulent Mach number Ma, as the determining variable for both of the
previously presented compressibility terms is the relation of velocity fluctuation
to the speed of sound, Ma^ = u' / a . In case of isotropic turbulence as it is usually
assumed for engineering purposes, where u'* = v^ = w^ , the turbulent kinetic
energy can be expressed as k = l/2m^ + v^ + w^j = 3/2u'*. Thus, velocity
fluctuation is gained from the kinetic energy, u'* = 2 1 3 k . The speed of sound is
calculated from the definition of the free stream Mach number, Ma = u / a . By
that way the turbulent Mach number becomes a function of the turbulent kinetic
energy k, the local velocity u and the free stream Mach number Ma.

(15)

2.1.3 Pressure Induced Diffusion

The third compressibility term is the correlation p'u" which is physically

interpreted as pressure induced diffusion of turbulent kinetic energy.

PX'=(P-PK (16)

By means of the equation of state (8) and the transformation rules between
Reynolds- and Favre-averaging [8] this term can be written as
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Advances in Fluid Mechanics 343

pX=pX'=R(Tp'ur+pTX') . (17)

The correlations of the turbulent mass and heat flux were approximated by
gradient transport models, which were used by Sarkar and Lakshamanan [6].

The factor C^ kV e can be summarized as \ = C^ kV e , which describes the

turbulent viscosity. Both constants a, and a? have the value 0.7 .
The Favre-averaged temperature f and the gradient 9T/9x. need a
further consideration. Here it is to be pointed out that including pressure and
density fluctuations normally is done that Reynolds-averaging is replaced by
Favre-averaging. Since this has to be applied to the system of equations, it
becomes locally necessary to transform Favre-averaged terms to its Reynolds-
averaged counterpart. The Favre-averaged temperature is written in the Reynolds-
averaged form as

Inserting equation (18) and (19) in equation (17) results in the following model
for the pressure velocity correlation.

=_ R ( + p (21)
£<J dx dx

The transformation to only Reynolds-averaged values yields

dxj p 3xj dx. 9

By using the equation of state (8), equation (22) can be summarized in the
following manner.

Substituting 3p/3T in (23a) and 3p/3x. in (22) results in

 Transactions on Engineering Sciences vol 9, © 1996 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3533
344 Advances in Fluid Mechanics

,-p (24,
Tydx. d\.

l + p f = 0. (25)
dx. dXj

The correlation p'u" can be reduced to two remaining terms.

For the correlation p'T on the equations R.H.S an expression was developed.
(See paragraph 2.2) Substituting this correlation a model for the diffusion of
turbulent kinetic energy caused by pressure fluctuations is found.

3 r-r-i 2C 1 d ( . dp _9k^
— (r/un = ---- v.k— + v.p — (27)
' ' ^

2.2 Temperature-Density Correlation

A suggestion for the correlation p'T comes from the relations as follows.

(28)

Equation (28) can be interpreted such that the static pressure p consists of the
thermodynamic pressure as it appears in a laminar flow RpT and a pressure
caused by fluctuating values Rp'T . The integration of the z-momentum equation
(4) from the surface to the outer edge of the boundary layer delivers

P = Ps-pw^ + P* . (29)
If P; defines the static pressure of the laminar flow and p* an unknown pressure
component arising from the uncertainty about the density distribution in the
boundary layer a comparison of the equations (28) and (29) yields

p* = RpT + pw^ . (30)

Thus, p* represents a pressure component generated by fluctuating values.

Assuming that Rp'T produces a reduction of the static pressure [7], an
acceleration of the flow is caused and thus an increasing of the velocity
fluctuations as well. The following proportionality takes this assumption into
account.
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Advances in Fluid Mechanics 345

RpT~pw" (31)

By introducing the model constant C and using the isotropic turbulence

assumption the correlation can be expressed by only known properties.

3 Analytical and Experimental Results

Analytical results for the flow along a flat plate are based on the method of
reference temperatures [3]. The reference temperature is defined by

-^— i-Ma'-T, . (33)

The constants A and B vary slightly between the assumptions of different authors.
Those given by Eckert [from Ref. 3] are A = 0.5 and B = 0.2 . This method takes
care of compressibility effects which strongly change the results close to the
leading edge of the flat plate and is applied to Blasius' laminar skin friction
coefficient as well as to the turbulence laws by the multiplication of the
Chapman-Rubesin factor.

f = (p-/p.)'-.frr/H.r 04)
This factor takes into consideration that high temperatures caused by a strong
dissipation rate influence the fluid properties density and viscosity. Thereby p*
and }T are state variables determined by means of the reference temperature, p,
and |i, are the equivalent values at the boundary layer edge.
Beside the theories described above there was a single set of experimental
data measured recently by Boerrigter [3] which show the development of the
friction coefficient in the transitional region for a Mach = 6 flow. Other
parameters of the flow measured are as follows.

Mach number Ma = 6.0

Re ynolds number Re = 7.75 • 10" m~
Stagnation temperature ^ = 550 K
Free stream temperature t, = 671 K
Wall temperature t* = 300 K
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346 Advances in Fluid Mechanics

u.uuo >; . . i . i . i . i
}. \ Exp. Data (Boerrigter)
;\ \ Ludwig-Tillmann theory
0.0025 t\ \ Falkner-Skan theory
|? \ \ Korgeki theory
;l \ \ Michel theory
', ,\ ^ ^x McLaughlin theory
% 0.002 ^,\\ ^.^ ^^x^ Blasius theory
1
'o
| 0.0015
0
o
1 0.001 -
• "v7

0.0005

n i i i i i i i i
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
x/L

Figure 1: Experimental data compared to Blasius' laminar and several turbulent

skin friction coefficients, modified by the Chapman-Rubesin factor for
compressibility

From Figure 1 it can be assumed that the theory by Ludwig-Tillmann fits best to
the experimental results along the turbulent branch. Obviously, at the time no free
stream turbulence rate was reported for this experiment.

4 Numerical Investigations

One purpose of the numerical experiments was to find the turbulence level of the
experiment done by Boerrigter [3]. In a first step the computational results were
fitted to the experimental data by varying the turbulence rate. The compressibility
terms were still neglected and therefore even for Tu = 4 % the difference between
measurements and computations was considerably high.
To get insight into whether the compressibility terms were able to correct
the development of the skin friction coefficient especially through the transitional
region a large number of computations was carried out. Because of missing
information on the free stream turbulence rate the compressibility terms could
only be investigated concerning the intensity of their influence by adjusting
proportionality coefficient arbitrarily.
Adding the approximation for the pressure dilatation, the numerical results
could be adapted to the measurements quite accurate except along the turbulent
branch of the Ludwig-Tillmann theory which was overpredicted (See figure 2).
The coefficient applied to the pressure dilatation was 10. The model developed by
Sarkar prescribes the factor 1.
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Advances in Fluid Mechanics 347

|\ Exp. Data (Boerrigter)

\ Numerical solution
0.0025 •* \ Ludwig-Tillmann theory
• N Blasius theory —
'. \
i ^\
^ 0.002
"cg> 1 ^^-

§ 0.0015
o
c
o
| 0.001

0.0005

i i i i i i i i i
C) 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.
x/L

Figure 2 : Skin friction coefficient applying the pressure dilatation model

compared to experimental data, Blasius and Ludwig-Tillmann theory

In case of the pressure induced diffusion model, which consist of two terms, test
runs were performed separately for each of the terms to get information about
their individual influence. The full model was hardly able to reproduce the
measured data since superposition made the influences of the single terms
eliminate each other. The dominant term which involves the density gradient
(first term) led to quite good results once it was heavily weighted. The location of
the transition point was well predicted, but the turbulent branch was
underpredicted (See figure 3).
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348 Advances in Fluid Mechanics

u.uuo
\ Exp. Data (Boerrigter)
\ Numerical solution
0.0025 i \^ Ludwig-Tillmann theory
\ Blasius theory
i
^ 0.002 4
c ii ^^ __
]y
^§ 0.0015 - \ / "- -— 27^
o \ / ---'.IT:
.1
•1 0.001

0.0005

n
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
x/L

Figure 3 : Skin friction coefficient applying the pressure induced diffusion model
(first term only) compared to experimental data, Blasius and Ludwig-Tillmann
theory

The density gradient term of the pressure induced diffusion showed a physically
expected behaviour in contrast to the second term of the model including the
gradient of the turbulent kinetic energy since its contribution disappears in
incompressible flow and it grows with increasing Mach number. This
corresponds to the nature of the compressibility effects.
The compressible dissipation term shows a strong influence on the
numerical result. But in case of a turbulence rate less than 4% it shifts the location
of the transition point downstream. The proportionality factor demanded by the
comparisons was 0.1, Sarkar and others [5] recommended this factor to lie
between 0.5 and 1.0 as mentioned before.
Summarizing, the terms can be divided into two groups concerning their
influence on the location of the transition. The pressure dilatation and the density
gradient term of the pressure induced diffusion shift the transition to the location
found by the measurements, while the other terms cause the opposite effect.
Another fact is that the compressibility terms effect the development of the skin
friction coefficient in the transitional region quite strong while the fully turbulent
region is changed rather weakly.
A combination of the pressure dilatation with the density gradient term of
the pressure induced diffusion ended with the best agreement (See Figure 4).
 Transactions on Engineering Sciences vol 9, © 1996 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3533
Advances in Fluid Mechanics 349

V.VAJO J\ i i i i i I i I i
\ Exp. Data (Boerrigter)
: \ Numerical solution
0.0025 •j \ Ludwig-Tillmann theory
• \ Blasius theory
'. \
friction coefficient cf

0.002 -1 X
i "^

0.0015 -\ \f ~~~~^^=— — ..— -

0.001

0.0005

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 05
x/L

Figure 4 : Skin friction coefficient applying the pressure induced diffusion

(density gradient term only) and the pressure dilatation compared to experimental
data, Blasius and Ludwig-Tillmann theory

5 Summary

For considering the strong pressure and density fluctuations in the supersonic and
hypersonic velocity range it is necessary to include the corresponding terms in the
set of the governing equations. Usually these correlations are neglected for a
Mach number less than two. Based on a suggestion by Sarkar and Lakshamanan
for the pressure induced diffusion term and a transformation of the Favre-
averaged temperature to its Reynolds-averaged form a model for the correlation
Rp'T in the pressure induced diffusion term was developed.
This approach and two other models for compressibility terms namely the
compressible dissipation and pressure dilatation, which gained importance
through investigations by "Direct Numerical Simulations" again by Sarkar were
used in a one-equation transition model to predict their influence. Boundary layer
calculations along a flat plate showed that the additional compressibility terms for
an advanced description of transition and turbulence in super and hypersonic
flows essentially effect the location of the transitional region while the laminar or
fully turbulent regions remain nearly unchanged.
These numerical experiments were compared to the analytical results by
Blasius and Ludwig-Tillmann for the development of the skin friction coefficient
along a flat plate of a laminar and turbulent flow, respectively. The branches of
the skin friction coefficient were modified for the inclusion of compressibility
effects by the Chapman-Rubesin factor. An experimental result by Boerrigter was
also used to adjust the proportionality coefficients necessary for the correlation
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350 Advances in Fluid Mechanics

model functions. The agreement finally, including all uncertainties of

engineering type of transition and turbulence models, was sufficient and
encouraging.

References

[1] Anderson jr., John D.: Modern compressible flow with historical
perspective,
McGraw Hill, 1990 (2nd edition)

[2] Anderson jr., John D.: Hypersonic and high temperature gas dynamics,
McGraw Hill, 1989

[3] Boerrigter, H. L. & Char bonnier, J.-M.: On the effect of flowfield non-
uniformities on boundary layer transition in hypersonic flow,
Proceedings of the "Euromech 330", Prague, April 10-12, 1995

[4] Deyhle, H. & Grundmann, R.: Transitional model for the prediction and
calculation of boundary layers,
ZFW, Band 15, Heft 2, 1991

[5] Narayan, J. R.: Two-Equation turbulence model for compressible

reacting flows
AIAA Journal, Volume 31, No. 2, Technical Notes, 1993

[6] Sarkar, S. & Lakshamanan, S.: Application of a Reynoldsstress

turbulence model to the compressible shear layer,
AIAA Journal vol. 29, No. 5, May 1991

[7] Sarkar, S.: Turbulence modeling and simulation of high-speed flows

Proceedings, 2nd Space course on low orbit transportation,
University of Technology Munich, 1993

[8] Vandromme, D.: Introduction to the modeling of turbulence,

VKI Lecture Series 1991-02, March 18-21, 1991