Inlet conditions for LES using mapping and feedback control

Generating effective and efficient inlet boundary conditions for large eddy simulation (LES) is a challenging problem. The most accurate way of achieving this is to run a precursor calculation to generate a library of turbulence, either prior to the simulation or concurrently with it, and to transfer the data from the library simulation to the main domain inlet. In this paper, we investigate a variant of this, in which the precursor calculation is subsumed into the main domain, its function being adopted by a mapping of data from a specified plane downstream of the inlet back to the inlet. Within this inlet section of the main domain, the flow can be affected by a number of computational manipulations, including the introduction of artificial body forces, modification of the mapped data, and direct correction of the velocity data. These modifications can be linked to feedback control algorithms to drive the solution towards specified characteristics, including mean and turbulent flow profiles, and bulk properties of the flow such as swirl. Various variants of the basic technique incorporating different levels of complexity in the control are implemented and tested on simulation of flow in a rectangular channel and in a circular pipe. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.