Numerical Calculation of a Confined Two-Dimensional Turbulent Mixing Layer

Abstract

Numerical simulation of a recent Stanford University experiment on the mixing layer downstream of a splitter plate is reported. The splitter plate, located midway between confining walls of a 4-cm-high and 10-cm-wide test section, separates upper and lower nitrogen streams of initial velocities of 6 and 3 m/s respectively. The flowfield computations, based upon Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and k-epsilon turbulence model, investigate the influence of inlet velocity profiles and turbulence length scales, differencing schemes, streamline curvature effects, and exit boundary location on the mean and rms velocity fields. The numerical predictions are compared with the available hot-wire anemometry data.