Modeling Complex Turbulent Flows (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9789401059862)

Turbulence modeling both addresses a fundamental problem in physics, 'the last great unsolved problem of classical physics, ' and has far-reaching importance in the solution of difficult practical problems from aeronautical engineering to dynamic meteorology. However, the growth of supercom- puter facilities has recently caused an apparent shift in the focus of tur- bulence research from modeling to direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large eddy simulation (LES). This shift in emphasis comes at a time when claims are being made in the world around us that scientific analysis itself will shortly be transformed or replaced by a more powerful 'paradigm' based on massive computations and sophisticated visualization. Although this viewpoint has not lacked ar- ticulate and influential advocates, these claims can at best only be judged premature. After all, as one computational researcher lamented, 'the com- puter only does what I tell it to do, and not what I want it to do. ' In turbulence research, the initial speculation that computational meth- ods would replace not only model-based computations but even experimen- tal measurements, have not come close to fulfillment. It is becoming clear that computational methods and model development are equal partners in turbulence research: DNS and LES remain valuable tools for suggesting and validating models, while turbulence models continue to be the preferred tool for practical computations. We believed that a symposium which would reaffirm the practical and scientific importance of turbulence modeling was both necessary and timely.

Author: Manuel D. Salas
ISBN-10: 9401059861
ISBN-13: 9789401059862
Publisher: Springer
Language: English
Published: 10/13/2012
Pages: 385
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.23lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.82d