REYNOLDS-AVERAGED NAVIER–

STOKES EQUATIONS
 Osborne Reynolds
• Osborne Reynolds who distribute Reynolds-averaging and using the The
Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes equations

• Osborne Reynolds FRS (23 August 1842 – 21 February 1912)

• He is a prominent Irish-born British innovator in the understanding
of fluid dynamics

• For the fluid mechanics, Reynolds most famously studied the conditions in which the
flow of fluid in pipes transitioned from laminar flow to turbulent flow

• In 1883 Reynolds demonstrated the transition to turbulent flow in a classic experiment in which he
examined the behavior of water flow under different flow rates using a small jet of dyed water
introduced into the centre of flow in a larger pipe.

• From these experiments came the dimensionless Reynolds number for dynamic
similarity—the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces. Reynolds also proposed what is
now known as Reynolds-averaging of turbulent flows
Introduction
• The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (or RANS equations) are time-averaged equations of motion
for fluid flow. The idea behind the equations is Reynolds decomposition, whereby an instantaneous quantity is
decomposed into its time-averaged and fluctuating quantities, an idea first proposed by Osborne Reynolds.The
RANS equations are primarily used to describe turbulent flows.
• The Navier-Stokes equations, developed by Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes in 1822, are equations
which can be used to determine the velocity vector field that applies to a fluid, given some initial conditions. They
arise from the application of Newton’s second law in combination with a fluid stress (due to viscosity) and a
pressure term. For almost all real situations, they result in a system of nonlinear partial differential equations;
however, with certain simplifications (such as 1-dimensional motion) they can sometimes be reduced to linear
differential equations. Usually, however, they remain nonlinear, which makes them difficult or impossible to solve;
this is what causes the turbulence and unpredictability in their results.

• he equation is a generalization of the equation devised by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in

the 18th century to describe the flow of incompressible and frictionless fluids.
The properties of the Navier-Stokes equations
1.Nonlinearity
• The Navier–Stokes equations are nonlinear partial differential equations in
the general case and so remain in almost every real situation.

• The nonlinearity makes most problems difficult or impossible to solve and is

the main contributor to the turbulence that the equations model.
The properties of the Navier-Stokes equations
2.Turbulence
• Turbulence is the time-dependent chaotic behavior seen in many fluid flows. It is generally
believed that it is due to the inertia of the fluid as a whole: the culmination of time-
dependent and convective acceleration; hence flows where inertial effects are small tend to
be laminar (the Reynolds number quantifies how much the flow is affected by inertia). It is
believed, though not known with certainty, that the Navier–Stokes equations describe
turbulence properly .
Mathematical Model and coordinate of Navier-Stoke equations

The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations

• The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations can be used with approximations based on

knowledge of the properties of flow turbulence to give approximate time-averaged solutions to
the Navier–Stokes equations. For a stationary, incompressible Newtonian fluid, these equations
can be written in Einstein notation in Cartesian coordinates .
• Ensemble (time) averaging may be used to extract the mean flow properties from the
instantaneous ones
Derivation of the Navier-Stokes Equations
- Reynolds (1895) decomposed the velocity field into a
time average motion and a turbulent fluctuation vx’
Vx

v x (x, y, z,  )  Vx (x, y, z)  v 'x (x, y, z,  )

- Likewise

f   f ,

f stands for any scalar: vx, vy, , vz, T, p, where:

1   

  f d

Time averaged component

Time Averaging Operations

f' 0
 f'  
f '  0

f1f2  (1  f '1 )( 2  f '2 )  1 2  f '1 f '2

divf  div  𝑢𝑖 (𝑿, 𝑡) --- momentary velocity components

𝑢ത 𝑖 (𝑿, 𝑡)--- the time-averaged value
𝑢𝑖′ (𝑿, 𝑡)---the fluctuating velocity
div (f1f2 )  div (1 2 )  div (f1'f2' )

div ( gradf )  div grad 

 Averaging Navier Stokes equations
p  P p ,
ρ ρ ρ , Substitute into Navier Stokes equations
vx  Vx  vx '
v y  Vy  v y ' Instantaneous velocity

vz  Vz  vz ' fluctuation
around
average
T T T' Average
velocity
velocity
Continuity equation: time
v x v y v z (Vx  v x ' ) (Vy  v y ' ) (Vz  v z ' ) Vx Vy Vz v x ' v y ' v z '
           0
x y z x y z x y z x y z
Average whole equation: 0 0 0 Average
Vx Vy Vz v x ' v y ' v z ' Vx Vy Vz v x ' v y ' v z '
     0      0 Vx Vy Vz
x y z x y z x y z x y z   0
x y z
Average of average = average Average of fluctuation = 0
 Example: of Time Averaging
Write continuity equations in a short format:

v x v x v x v x p  2vx  2vx 2vx

ρ(  vx  vy  vz )    μ 2  μ 2  μ 2  Sx
τ x y z x x y z

   
v  vx i  v y j  vz k

v x v x v x   
vx  vy  vz  div ( v x v )  v x div v  div ( v x v )
x y z
=0 continuity
 2vx  2vx 2vx
 2   2   2  μ div(grad v x )
x y z
Short format of continuity equation in x direction:

v x  p
ρ(  div(v x v ))    μ div(grad v x )  S
τ x x
 Averaging of Momentum Equation
v x  p
ρ(  div(v x v ))    μ div(grad v x )  Sx
τ x
averaging
v x  p
ρ  ρ div(v x v )    μ div(grad v x )  Sx
τ x
0
v x  (Vx  v' x )  (Vx  v' x ) Vx Vx
ρ ρ ρ ρ ρ
τ τ τ τ τ
   v ' '
v  v ' '
x vy v 'x v 'z
div ( v x v )  div (Vx V)  div ( v x v )  div (Vx V) 
' ' x x
 
x y z
      
div ( v v )  div ( v (v i  v j  v k))  div ((v v i  v v j  v v k)) 
'
x
' '
x
'
x
'
y
'
z
'
x
'
x
'
x
'
y
'
x
'
z

v 'x v 'x v x v y v 'x v 'z

' '

  
x y z

div(grad v x )  div(grad Vx )  div(grad V x )

 Time Averaged Momentum Equation
Instantaneous velocity
v x v x v x v x p  2vx  2vx 2vx
ρ(  vx  vy  vz )    μ 2  μ 2  μ 2  Sx
τ x y z x x y z
Average velocities
Vx Vx Vx Vx P  2 Vx  2 Vx  2 Vx v'x v'x v'x v'y v'x v'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sx
τ x y z x x y z x y z

Reynolds stresses
For y and z direction:

Vy Vy Vy VyP  2 Vy  2 Vy  2 Vy v 'y v 'x v 'y v 'y v 'y v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ μ μ ρ ρ ρ  Sy
τ x y z x x 2 y 2 z 2 x y z

Vz Vz Vz Vz P  2 Vz  2 Vz  2 Vz v 'z v 'x v 'z v 'y v 'z v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ μ μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sz
τ x y z x x 2 y 2 z x y z

Total nine
 Time Averaged Continuity Equation
Instantaneous velocities
v x v y v z
  0
x y z
Averaged velocities
Vx Vy Vz
  0
x y z

Time Averaged Energy Equation

Instantaneous temperatures and velocities
T T T T  2T  2T  2T
ρc p (  Vx  Vy  Vz )  k 2 k 2 k 2 Φq
τ x y z x y z
Averaged temperatures and velocities

T T T T  2T  2T  2T T v x T v y T v z
' ' ' ' ' '

ρc p (  Vx  Vy  Vz )  k 2  k 2  k 2  ρ ρ ρ Φq
τ x y z x y z x y z
Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations

Vx Vy Vz Reynolds stresses

  0 total 9 - 6 are unknown
x y z

Vx Vx Vx Vx P  2 Vx  2 Vx  2 Vx v 'x v 'x v 'x v 'y v 'x v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sx
τ x y z x x y z x y z
same
Vy Vy Vy Vy P  2 Vy  2 Vy  2 Vy v'y v 'x v 'y v'y v'y v 'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sy
τ x y z x x y z x y z

Vz Vz Vz Vz P  2 Vz  2 Vz  2 Vz v 'z v'x v 'z v 'y v 'z v'z
ρ(  Vx  Vy  Vz )   μ 2 μ 2 μ 2 ρ ρ ρ  Sz
τ x y z x x y z x y z

Total 4 equations and 4 + 6 = 10 unknowns

We need to model the Reynolds stresses !
[email protected]
Mathematical Model and coordinate of Navier-Stoke equations

The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations

• The left hand side of this equation represents the change in mean momentum of fluid element owing to the
unsteadiness in the mean flow and the convection by the mean flow.

• This nonlinear Reynolds stress term requires additional modeling to close the RANS equation for solving, and has led
to operator the creation of many different turbulence models. The time-average is a Reynolds operator
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
• Applicability
The Navier–Stokes equations assume that the fluid being studied is a continuum (it is infinitely
divisible and not composed of particles such as atoms or molecules), and is not moving at relativistic
velocities. At very small scales or under extreme conditions, real fluids made out of discrete molecules will
produce results different from the continuous fluids modeled by the Navier–Stokes equations.

Currently, The Navier–Stokes equations are used extensively in video games in order to model
a wide variety of natural phenomena. Simulations of small-scale gaseous fluids, such as fire and smoke,
are often based on the seminal paper "Real-Time Fluid Dynamics for Games" by Jos Stam
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Single-Equation Model: Spalart-Allmaras:

• “Spalart-Allmaras (SA) is a one-equation turbulence model that has been developed specifically for
aerodynamic flows such as transonic flow over airfoils,” said Baglietto.

• “Because we are only solving a single equation for turbulence,” Corson added, “the non-linear convergence is
outstanding and the model is very forgiving of poor quality mesh, particularly in the near wall region. The drawback
is that it does have some limitations due to the single-equation formulation. The turbulence length and time scales
are not as well defined as they are in other models such as SST.”
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Single-Equation Model: Spalart-Allmaras:

Limitations of Spalart-Allmaras include:

 Shear flows
 Under predicting separation
 Decaying turbulence
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-epsilon, Realizable k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon

Figure 2 Turbulent flow around a car-like model calculated in COMSOL using a k-epsilon model. (Image courtesy of COMSOL.)

• “In [the standard k-epsilon model] we solve for two variables, the turbulent kinetic energy, k, and the rate of
dissipation of kinetic energy, epsilon [ε],” said Valerio Marra, marketing director at COMSOL.
• Marra explained that the model uses wall functions to analytically account for the fluid velocity in the
viscous sublayer near the wall.
• “The model has improved performance for planar surfaces, round jets, rotation, recirculation and streamline
curvature. It also improves the boundary layer under strong adverse pressure gradients or separation. But it
cannot do magic as it’s still based on [turbulent] viscosity.”
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-epsilon, Realizable k-epsilon, RNG k-epsilon

Figure 2 Turbulent flow around a car-like model calculated in COMSOL using a k-epsilon model. (Image courtesy of COMSOL.)

Limitations of k-epsilon include:

 No-slip walls
 Adverse pressure gradients
 Strong curvatures
 Jet flows
 Difficulty solving for epsilon
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-omega and SST k-omega

Figure 3 Left: Simulation of a turbulent flow modeled with the shear stress transport (SST) k-omega turbulence model in Altair AcuSolve. Right: Comparison of the convergence rate for the model solved
using Spalart-Allmaras, SST k-omega and standard k-omega model

• “[k-omega] is a popular model for turbomachinery simulations and for simulations where strong vortices are present such as
those originating from wing tips,” said Mann. “[It] performs well for swirling flows and in the near wall region, but it over-predicts
separation.”
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-omega and SST k-omega

Figure 3 Left: Simulation of a turbulent flow modeled with the shear stress transport (SST) k-omega turbulence model in Altair AcuSolve. Right: Comparison of the convergence rate for the model solved
using Spalart-Allmaras, SST k-omega and standard k-omega model

• “The SST k-omega model is an enhancement of the original k-omega model and addresses some specific flaws of the base model, such

as the sensitivity to freestream turbulence levels,” explained Malan. “It has the advantage that it can be applied to the viscous-affected region

without further modification, which is one reason it has become a popular choice in aerospace applications where the flow is deemed too

complex for Spalart-Allmaras.”

Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-omega and SST k-omega

Figure 3 Left: Simulation of a turbulent flow modeled with the shear stress transport (SST) k-omega turbulence model in Altair AcuSolve. Right: Comparison of the convergence rate for the model solved
using Spalart-Allmaras, SST k-omega and standard k-omega model

• “Purists may object strongly that the blending function crossover location is arbitrary and could obscure some critical
feature of the turbulence,” noted Baglietto. Clearly the model isn’t perfect; it also requires limiters to improve the
prediction of stagnant regions of the flow. Additionally, it has issues predicting turbulence levels and complex internal
flows and it doesn’t take buoyancy into account.
Applicability of Navier-Stokes equations
RANS Two-Equation Model: Standard k-omega and SST k-omega

Figure 3 Left: Simulation of a turbulent flow modeled with the shear stress transport (SST) k-omega turbulence model in Altair AcuSolve. Right: Comparison of the convergence rate for the model solved
using Spalart-Allmaras, SST k-omega and standard k-omega model

Limitations of k-omega include:

 Difficulty of convergence compared to k-epsilon
 Sensitivity to initial conditions