1 DEVELOPMENT OF A REYNOLDS STRESS MODEL TO PREDICT TURBULENT FLOWS WITH VISCOELASTIC FLUIDS

Abstract: A second order closure for predicting turbulent flows of viscoelastic fluids is proposed in this work and its performance is assessed by comparing its predictions with experimental data for fully-developed pipe flow. The model is an extension of an existing Reynolds stress closure for Newtonian fluids and includes low Reynolds number damping functions to properly deal with wall effects. The model was modified to take into account viscoelasticity, especially in the pressure strain term. The new damping functions depend on rheological characteristics of the fluids, as was the case with previous developments of k-ε models for viscoelastic fluids by Cruz and Pinho [1] and Cruz et al. [2]. 1