Morphing Continuum Theory for Turbulence: Theory, Computation and Visualization

Abstract: A high order morphing continuum theory (MCT) is introduced to model highly compressible turbulence. The theory is formulated under the rigorous framework of rational continuum mechanics. A set of linear constitutive equations and balance laws are deduced and presented from the Coleman-Noll procedure and Onsager's reciprocal relations. The governing equations are then arranged in conservation form and solved through the finite volume method with a second order Lax-Friedrichs scheme for shock preservation. A numerical example of transonic flow over a three-dimensional bump is presented using MCT and the finite volume method. The comparison shows that MCT-based DNS provides a better prediction than NS-based DNS with less than 10% of the mesh number when compared with experiments. A MCT-based and frame-indifferent Q-criterion is also derived to show the coherent eddy structure of the downstream turbulence in the numerical example. It should be emphasized that unlike the NS-based G-criterion, the MCT-based Q-criterion is objective without the limitation of Galilean-invariance.