Stochastic modelling and diffusion modes for proper orthogonal decomposition models and small-scale flow analysis

Abstract: We present here a new stochastic modelling in the constitution of fluid flow reduced-order models. This framework introduces a spatially inhomogeneous random field to represent the unresolved small-scale velocity component. Such a decomposition of the velocity in terms of a smooth large-scale velocity component and a rough, highly oscillating, component gives rise, without any supplementary assumption, to a large-scale flow dynamics that includes a modified advection term together with an inhomogeneous diffusion term. Both of those terms, related respectively to turbophoresis and mixing effects, depend on the variance of the unre-solved small-scale velocity component. They bring to the reduced system an explicit subgrid term enabling to take into account the action of the truncated modes. Besides, a decomposition of the variance tensor in terms of diffusion modes provides a meaningful statistical representation of the stationary or nonstationary structuration of the small-scale velocity and of its action on the resolved modes. This supplies a useful tool for turbulent fluid flows data analysis. We apply this methodology to circular cylinder wake flow at Reynolds numbers Re = 300 and Re = 3900, respectively. The finite dimensional models of the wake flows reveal the energy and the anisotropy distributions of the small-scale diffusion modes. These distributions identify critical regions where corrective advection effects as well as structured energy dissipation effects take place. In providing rigorously derived subgrid terms, the proposed approach yields accurate and robust temporal reconstruction of the low-dimensional models.