Finite element computation of turbulent flows with the discontinuity-capturing directional dissipation (DCDD)

The streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) and pressure-stabilizing/Petrov-Galerkin (PSPG) methods are among the most popular stabilized formulations in finite element computation of flow problems. The discontinuity-capturing directional dissipation (DCDD) was first introduced as a complement to the SUPG and PSPG stabilizations for the computation of incompressible flows in the presence of sharp solution gradients. The DCDD stabilization takes effect where there is a sharp gradient in the velocity field and introduces dissipation in the direction of that gradient. The length scale used in defining the DCDD stabilization is based on the solution gradient. Here we describe how the DCDD stabilization, in combination with the SUPG and PSPG stabilizations, can be applied to computation of turbulent flows. We examine the similarity between the DCDD stabilization and a purely dissipative energy cascade model. To evaluate the performance of the DCDD stabilization, we compute as test problem a plane channel flow at friction Reynolds number Re_τ = 180.