Reynolds averaged simulation of unsteady separated flow

The accuracy of Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models in predicting complex flows with separation is examined. The unsteady flow around square cylinder and over a wall-mounted cube are simulated and compared with experimental data. For the cube case, none of the previously published numerical predictions obtained by steady-state RANS produced a good match with experimental data. However, evidence exists that coherent vortex shedding occurs in this flow. Its presence demands unsteady RANS computation because the flow is not statistically stationary. The present study demonstrates that unsteady RANS does indeed predict periodic shedding, and leads to much better concurrence with available experimental data than has been achieved with steady computation.