A grid-independent length scale for large-eddy simulations

We propose a new length scale as a basis for the modelling of subfilter motions in large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent flow. Rather than associating the model length scale with the computational grid, we put forward an approximation of the integral length scale to achieve a non-uniform flow coarsening through spatial filtering that reflects the local, instantaneous turbulence activity. Through the introduction of this grid-independent, solution-specific length scale it becomes possible to separate the problem of representing small-scale turbulent motions in a coarsened flow model from that of achieving an accurate numerical resolution of the primary flow scales. The formulation supports the notion of grid-independent LES, in which a prespecified reliability measure is used. We investigate a length-scale definition based on the resolved turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and its dissipation. The proposed approach, which we call integral length-scale approximation (ILSA) model, is illustrated for turbulent channel flow at high Reynolds numbers and for homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT). We employ computational optimization of the model parameter based on various measures of subfilter activity, using the successive inverse polynomial interpolation (SIPI) and establish the efficiency of this route to subfilter modelling.