Half-explicit Runge-Kutta integrators for variational multiscale turbulence modeling: Toward higher-order accuracy in space and time

Abstract: The residual-based variational multiscale (VMS) formulation has achieved remarkable success in large-eddy simulation of turbulent flows. However, its temporal discretization has largely remained limited to second-order implicit schemes. The present work aims at advancing this direction through the introduction of Runge-Kutta (RK) schemes within the VMS framework in a mathematically consistent manner. Guided by the Rothe method, the half-explicit RK scheme is employed as its accuracy is theoretically guaranteed for index-2 differential-algebraic equations. Owing to the explicit treatment of the nonlinear term, the resulting spatial problem exhibits a structure analogous to that of the Darcy equation. Following the philosophy of the VMS analysis, a subgrid-scale model is derived without invoking linearization based on perturbation series and related assumptions. The analysis further reveals that the parameter in the subgrid model is independent of the spatial mesh size. Fourier analysis demonstrates that the Rothe method, compared with the conventional vertical method of lines, provides improved dissipation and dispersion properties and exhibits a larger stability region for convection-dominated regimes. In the Taylor-Green vortex benchmark, the proposed schemes demonstrate superior performance as a large-eddy simulation model, achieving higher fidelity in predicting the kinetic energy evolution, energy spectra, and vortex structures than the conventional VMS formulation. Simulations of the open cavity flow further show that the proposed schemes can accurately capture the periodic limit cycle caused by the supercritical Hopf bifurcation, confirming its effectiveness and fidelity for highly sensitive flow instability problems.