Data-driven spectral turbulence modeling for Rayleigh-Bénard convection

Abstract: A data-driven turbulence model for coarse-grained numerical simulations of two-dimensional Rayleigh-B\'enard convection is proposed. The model starts from high-fidelity data and is based on adjusting the Fourier coefficients of the numerical solution, with the aim of accurately reproducing the kinetic energy spectra as seen in the high-fidelity reference findings. No assumptions about the underlying PDE or numerical discretization are used in the formulation of the model. We also develop a constraint on the heat flux to guarantee accurate Nusselt number estimates on coarse computational grids and high Rayleigh numbers. Model performance is assessed in coarse numerical simulations at $Ra=10^{10}$. We focus on key features including kinetic energy spectra, wall-normal flow statistics, and global flow statistics. The method of data-driven modeling of flow dynamics is found to reproduce the reference kinetic energy spectra well across all scales and yields good results for flow statistics and average heat transfer, leading to computationally cheap surrogate models. Large-scale forcing extracted from the high-fidelity simulation leads to accurate Nusselt number predictions across two decades of Rayleigh numbers, centered around the targeted reference at $Ra=10^{10}$.