Modelling turbulence at extreme Reynolds numbers: advances and applications in wind energy, hydrogen, and health

Turbulence is a defining feature of the fluid flows that occur in our energy sector, transportation systems, in and through our buildings, and also in our health. Most of these applications involve very large Reynolds numbers, where flow inertia massively dwarfs viscous diffusion. As computational power grows, numerical simulations are increasingly able to resolve the minute features of turbulence in these settings. This includes the rich spectrum of energy-containing fluctuations or “eddies” that are responsible for transferring mass, heat, and momentum across the extremely broad ranges of length and time scales found in such flows. So-called “eddy resolving” simulations are shedding new light on how turbulent flows behave and the ways that turbulence affects the performance of critical infrastructure across a broad range of sectors. This talk will explore the development and application of eddy resolving numerical simulations of turbulent flows undertaken in the UBC Okanagan Computational Fluid Dynamics Lab. In particular, it will explore how eddy-resolving turbulence simulations are contributing to innovations in wind energy, airborne disease transmission, and hydrogen safety. The talk will aim to describe recent advances in solution methodologies, novel applications, and recent fundamental insights into the physics of turbulent flows.