Flow simulation in piping system dead legs using second moment closure and k-epsilon model

This paper deals with an industrial application of second moment closure turbulence model in numerical simulation of 3D turbulent flows in piping system dead legs. Calculations performed with the 3D ESTET code are presented which contrast the performance of k-epsilon eddy viscosity model and second moment closure turbulence models. Coarse (100 000), medium (400 000) and fine (1 500 000) mesh were used. The second moment closure performs significantly better than eddy viscosity model and predicts with a good agreement the vortex penetration in dead legs. These results illustrate the ability of second moment closure turbulence model to simulate 3D turbulent industrial flows. Reynolds stress model computation does not require special care, the calculation is carried on as simply as k-ɛ one. The CPU time needed is lower than twice the CPU time needed using k-ɛ model.