Large-eddy simulation of the temporal mixing layer using the Clark model

The Clark model for the turbulent stress tensor in large-eddy simulation is investigated from a theoretical and computational point of view. In order to be applicable to compressible turbulent flows, the Clark model has been reformulated. Actual large-eddy simulation of a weakly compressible, turbulent, temporal mixing layer shows that the eddy-viscosity part of the original Clark model gives rise to an excessive dissipation of energy in the transitional regime. On the other hand, the model gives rise to instabilities if the eddy-viscosity part is omitted and only the “gradient” part is retained. A linear stability analysis of the Burgers equation supplemented with the Clark model is performed in order to clarify the nature of the instability. It is shown that the growth-rate of the instability is infinite in the inviscid limit and that sufficient (eddy-)viscosity can stabilize the model. A model which avoids both the excessive dissipation of the original Clark model as well as the instability of the “gradient” part, is obtained when the dynamic procedure is applied to the Clark model. Large-eddy simulation using this new dynamic Clark model is found to yield satisfactory results when compared with a filtered direct numerical simulation. Compared with the standard dynamic eddy-viscosity model, the dynamic Clark model yields more accurate predictions, whereas compared with the dynamic mixed model the new model provides equal accuracy at a lower computational effort.