Turbulent flow simulation - Future needs

Time-averaged or ensemble-averaged, large-eddy, and full numerical simulations of compressible and incompressible turbulent flows are discussed in an analytical review, and the potential of future supercomputers to attack outstanding problems is considered. The theoretical basis of averaging methods and the need for turbulence models are explained; numerical methods based on global conservation laws are surveyed; solution strategies for steady incompressible flows are examined; and methods for full and large-eddy simulations are reviewed, with an emphasis on the derivation of initial conditions, the numerical treatment of spatial derivatives and boundary conditions, and the types of flows accessible to analysis using supercomputers. It is predicted that supercomputers will make large-eddy simulation a much more useful tool, both in applications and in developing turbulence models for averaging methods.