Investigation of numerical viscosities and dissipation rates of second-order TVD-MUSCL schemes for implicit large-eddy simulation

Monotonically integrated large-eddy simulation (MILES) approach utilizes the dissipation inherent to shock-capturing schemes to emulate the role played by explicit subgrid-scale eddy diffusivity at the high-wavenumber end of the turbulent energy spectrum. In the current study, a novel formulation is presented for quantifying the numerical viscosity inherent to Roe-based second-order TVD-MUSCL schemes for the Euler equations. Using this formulation, the effects of numerical viscosity and dissipation rate on implicit large-eddy simulations of turbulent flows are investigated. At first, the three-dimensional (3-D) finite-volume extension of the original Roe's flux, including Roe's Jacobian matrix, is presented. The fluxes are then extended to second-order using van Leer's MUSCL extrapolation technique. Starting from the 3-D Roe-MUSCL flux, an expression is derived for the numerical viscosity as a function of flux limiter and characteristic speed for each conserved variable, distance between adjacent cell centers, and a scaling parameter. Motivated by Thornber et al. [16] study, the high numerical viscosity inherent to TVD-MUSCL schemes is mitigated using a z-factor that depends on local Mach number. The TVD limiters, along with the z-factor, were initially applied to the 1-D shock-tube and 2-D inviscid supersonic wedge flows. Spatial profiles of numerical viscosities are plotted, which provide insights into the role of these limiters in controlling the dissipative nature of Roe's flux while maintaining monotonicity and stability in regions of high gradients. Subsequently, a detailed investigation was performed of decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence with varying degrees of compressibility. Spectra of numerical viscosity and dissipation rate are presented, which clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the z-factor both in narrowing the wavenumber range in which dissipation occurs, and in shifting the location of dissipation peak closer to the cut-off wavenumber. The present z-factor approach of limiting numerical viscosities is shown to perform as well as, or even better in some cases, than the Thornber et al. approach of directly limiting velocity jumps at a cell interface.