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On the accuracy of high-order discretizations for underresolved turbulence simulations

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Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the accuracy of a high-order discontinuous Galerkin discretization for the coarse resolution simulation of turbulent flow. We show that a low-order approximation exhibits unacceptable numerical discretization errors, whereas a naive application of high-order discretizations in those situations is often unstable due to aliasing. Thus, for high-order simulations of underresolved turbulence, proper stabilization is necessary for a successful computation. Two different mechanisms are chosen, and their impact on the accuracy of underresolved high-order computations of turbulent flows is investigated. Results of these approximations for the Taylor–Green Vortex problem are compared to direct numerical simulation results from literature. Our findings show that the superior discretization properties of high-order approximations are retained even for these coarsely resolved computations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Aerodyamics and Gasdynamics, Pfaffenwaldring 21, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Gregor J. Gassner & Andrea D. Beck

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  1. Gregor J. Gassner
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  2. Andrea D. Beck
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Correspondence to Gregor J. Gassner.

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Communicated by Klein.

The research presented in this paper was supported in parts by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the Schwerpunktprogramm 1276: MetStroem.

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Gassner, G.J., Beck, A.D. On the accuracy of high-order discretizations for underresolved turbulence simulations. Theor. Comput. Fluid Dyn. 27, 221–237 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-011-0253-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-011-0253-7

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