Introduction

The K-epsilon model is one of the most common turbulence models. It is a two equation model,
that means, it includes two extra transport equations to represent the turbulent properties of the
flow. This allows a two equation model to account for history effects like convection and
diffusion of turbulent energy.

The first transported variable is turbulent kinetic energy, . The second transported variable in
this case is the turbulent dissipation, . It is the variable that determines the scale of the
turbulence, whereas the first variable, , determines the energy in the turbulence.

There are two major formulations of K-epsilon models (see References 2 and 3). That of Launder
and Sharma is typically called the "Standard" K-epsilon Model. The original impetus for the K-
epsilon model was to improve the mixing-length model, as well as to find an alternative to
algebraically prescribing turbulent length scales in moderate to high complexity flows.

As described in Reference 1, the K-epsilon model has been shown to be useful for free-shear
layer flows with relatively small pressure gradients. Similarly, for wall-bounded and internal
flows, the model gives good results only in cases where mean pressure gradients are small;
accuracy has been shown experimentally to be reduced for flows containing large adverse
pressure gradients. One might infer then, that the K-epsilon model would be an inappropriate
choice for problems such as inlets and compressors.

To calculate boundary conditions for these models see turbulence free-stream boundary
conditions.

Standard k-epsilon model

Transport equations for standard k-epsilon model

For turbulent kinetic energy

For dissipation

Modeling turbulent viscosity

Turbulent viscosity is modelled as:

Production of k

Where is the modulus of the mean rate-of-strain tensor, defined as :

Effect of buoyancy

where Prt is the turbulent Prandtl number for energy and gi is the component of the gravitational
vector in the ith direction. For the standard and realizable - models, the default value of Prt is
0.85.

The coefficient of thermal expansion, , is defined as

Model constants
Realisable k-epsilon model

Transport Equations

Where

In these equations, represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean
velocity gradients, calculated in same manner as standard k-epsilon model. is the generation
of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy, calculated in same way as standard k-epsilon
model.

Modelling Turbulent Viscosity

where

;
;

where is the mean rate-of-rotation tensor viewed in a rotating reference frame with the
angular velocity . The model constants and are given by:
Model Constants

RNG k-epsilon model

The RNG model was developed using Re-Normalisation Group (RNG) methods by Yakhot et al
to renormalise the Navier-Stokes equations, to account for the effects of smaller scales of
motion. In the standard k-epsilon model the eddy viscosity is determined from a single
turbulence length scale, so the calculated turbulent diffusion is that which occurs only at the
specified scale, whereas in reality all scales of motion will contribute to the turbulent diffusion.
The RNG approach, which is a mathematical technique that can be used to derive a turbulence
model similar to the k-epsilon, results in a modified form of the epsilon equation which attempts
to account for the different scales of motion through changes to the production term.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Transport Equations
• 2 Constants
• 3 Applicability and Use

• 4 References

Transport Equations
There are a number of ways to write the transport equations for k and , a simple interpretation
where bouyancy is neglected is
where

and and

With the turbulent viscosity being calculated in the same manner as with the standard k-epsilon
model.

Constants
It is interesting to note that the values of all of the constants (except ) are derived explicitly in
the RNG procedure. They are given below with the commonly used values in the standard k-
epsilon equation in brackets for comparison:

(0.09)
(1.0)
(1.30)
(1.44)
(1.92)

(derived from experiment)

Applicability and Use

Although the technique for deriving the RNG equations was quite revolutionary at the time, it's
use has been more low key. Some workers claim it offers improved accuracy in rotating flows,
although there are mixed results in this regard: It has shown improved results for modelling
rotating cavities, but shown no improvements over the standard model for predicting vortex
evolution (both these examples from individual experience). It is favoured for indoor air
simulations.
k-ε model

The k-ε model is the most commonly used of all the turbulence models. It is classified as a two
equation model. This denotes the fact that the transport equation is solved for two turbulent
quantities k and ε. Within the model the properties k and ε are defined through two transport
equations (1) and (2).

(1)

(2)

k-ω model

The k-ω model is the second most widely used turbulence model and is also classified as a two
equation model. This model is very similar to the k-ε model and uses the same definition for k as
previously outlined (1). However the k-ω model differs in its selection of a second variable for
characterising turbulent behaviour. The equation for ω is defined by the following equation (3).

(3)

Reynolds Stress

Reynolds Stress models solve for individual Reynolds stresses and for the turbulent dissipation
ε. The Reynolds Stress model assumes that the factors within it contain no dependence on the
Reynolds number of the flow. However it should be noted that this is not always true especially
at moderate Reynolds numbers. The central concept of the Reynolds stress model is that the
stress tensor Rij is determined locally within the cell. This assumption provides the main
weakness to the Reynolds stress model in that it often disregards long range effects caused by
walls and other objects within the flow.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses
k-ε model and k-ω model are computationally
k-ε model overestimates turbulence
cheap
k-ω model more accurate at boundary level
k-ε model and k-ω model poor at 3-D
flows
Reynolds stress generally more accurate Reynolds Stress is computationally expensive
Reynolds Stress underestimated long range
effects

Choice

k-ε model because k-ω model offers no advantage and Reynolds Stress would be too
computationally demanding for a large 3-D case.