A Direct Pressure-Linking Method for Turbulent Flow Computations

Abstract

A new numerical method based on the direct approach is presented for turbulent flow computations. The velocity–pressure coupling is done by solving locally, in each control volume and in all possible ways, a linear system for velocity components and pressure. This method uses less memory than a standard SIMPLER implementation, and it shows good numerical stability. The problem of turbulent flow in a straight duct is used to test the ability of this procedure with three different Reynolds numbers. All examples are computed with moderate grids, finding good agreement and reproducing the strong pressure variation in the viscous sublayer.