Thomas S. Lundgren, Principal Investigator

PDF For Turbulent Flow

This research centered on the deformation and breakup of liquid drops in high-speed gas streams by means of boundary integral numerical methods. The application sought to demonstrate the secondary breakup of fuel spray droplets in high-pressure gas turbine combustion chambers.

The researchers also developed a new method for closing the equation for the probability density function (PDF) for isotropic, homogeneous turbulent flow. This first order partial differential equation in six variables, plus time, is a generalized Boltzmann equation, which can be solved by numerically integrating its characteristic equations backward in time to the intersection with initial specified data. The method of closure along with the solution method ensured that the PDF remains positive.

Research Group

Ram Rao, Research Associate