Turbulence models for near-wall and low Reynolds number flows - A review

Recent turbulence closure models have been successfully employed in the prediction of wall-bounded shear flows. Certain difficulties can, however, arise in certain situations, including cases involving low Reynolds numbers. In recent years, a number of proposals have been made for model extensions which would allow an application of the turbulence models in the case of low Reynolds numbers or in situations involving near-wall flow. Unfortunately, as the results provided by each of the obtained models were compared for different flows, it is not clear which of the many proposed models can be used with confidence. For this reason, the present study is concerned with a systematic evaluation of existing two-equation, 'low-Reynolds number' turbulence models. The obtained results indicate clearly the relative performance of the various models proposed to describe near-wall flows. The performance of the models is discussed along with approaches for performance improvement.