Wilcox k-ω Model

Since all three k-ε turbulence models cannot be integrated all the way to walls, wall damping wall functions must be employed to provide correct near wall behavior. It is also known that the standard k-ε turbulence model fails to predict the flow separation under adverse pressure gradients.

Wilcox proposed a turbulence model similar to the standard k-ε turbulence model but replaced the dissipation rate (ε) equation with the eddy frequency (ω) equation (Wilcox, 2006; Wilcox, 2008). The eddy frequency (ω) is often referred to the specific dissipation rate and is defined as ω = ε / k . The Wilcox k-ω turbulence model has an advantage over the k-ε turbulence model as the k-ω model does not require any wall functions for the calculation of the velocity distribution near walls. As a result, the k-ω turbulence model has better performance for flows with adverse pressure gradient when compared to the k-ε turbulence models. However, the k-ω model exhibits a strong sensitivity to the freestream boundary condition (Wilcox, 2006) for external flow applications.

Transport Equations

Turbulent Kinetic Energy k (1)
( ρ k ) t + ( ρ u j ¯ k ) x j   = x j [ ( μ + σ k μ t ) k x j ] + P k + D k
Eddy Frequency (Specific Dissipation Rate) ω (2)
( ρ k ) t + ( ρ u j ¯ k ) x j   = x j [ ( μ + σ k μ t ) k x j ] + P k + D k

Production Modeling

Turbulent Kinetic Energy k (3)
P k = μ t S 2
Eddy Frequency ω (4)
P ω = γ ω k μ t S 2

where γ = β 0 β * σ ω κ 2 β * , β = β 0 f β , f β = 1 + 85 χ ω 1 + 100 χ ω , χ ω = | Ω i j Ω j k S ^ k i ( β * ω ) 3 | , S ^ k i = S k i 1 2 u m ¯ x m δ k i , S i j = 1 2 ( u i ¯ x j + u j ¯ x i ) , Ω i j = 1 2 ( u i ¯ x j u j ¯ x i )

Dissipation Modeling

Turbulent Kinetic Energy (k) (5)
D k = ρ β * k ω
Eddy Frequency (ω) (6)
D ω = ρ β ω 2

Modeling of Turbulent Viscosity μ t

(7)
μ t = k ω ´

where ω ´ = m a x [ ω , C l i m 2 S ¯ i j S ¯ i j β * ] , S ¯ i j = S i j 1 3 u k ¯ x k δ i j , C l i m = 7 8 ,

Model Coefficients

σ k = 0.6, σ ω = 0.5, β * = 0.09, β 0 = 0.0708, κ = 0.4, σ d = { 0.0   f o r   k x j ω x j 0 1 8   f o r   k x j ω x j > 0 .