Large Eddy Simulation

The Colorful Fluid Mixing Gallery

Large eddy simulation (LES) allows all large scale turbulent eddies to be calculated explicitly, and only small turbulent eddies are modeled using a sub-grid model. This method is well suited for detailed time dependent calculations of the flow and mixing in stirred tanks. The animations below were prepared by Dr. Lanre Oshinowo at Fluent, Inc., using Fluent 5 software. He can also provide you with a copy of the presentation he gave at the North American Mixing conference on this topic.

This animation shows the turbulent vortex forming behind the blade of a pitched blade turbine. The vortex is visualized by means of an iso-surface of vorticity magnitude, and is colored by velocity magnitude. You can click on the animation to view a larger version.

This animation shows the dispersion of a tracer material by the same pitched blade turbine. A blob of tracer is placed above the impeller, and mixed in with the rest of the vessel. Also this calculation was performed using the Fluent 5 LES model. You can click on the animation to view a larger version (1.2MB).

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Last Updated February 9, 2000 by André Bakker