A Comprehensive Comparison of Different Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes Turbulence Models in Modeling Turbulent Plane Jets

Turbulent plane jets are of great interest in a broad range of engineering applications such as combustion, mixing, and ventilation. Accurate prediction of the velocity field of jets is essential for accurate calculation of the mass and energy transfer in it. However, to date, no modeling works has comprehensively evaluated the computational accuracy and advantages of various Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models for calculating plane jets. Here, the plane jet of air was investigated under various Reynolds numbers using a suite of RANS models, including standard <i>k</i> - ε (SKE), realizable <i>k</i> - ε (RKE), renormalization group <i>k</i> - ε (RNGKE), standard <i>k</i> - ω (SKO), and shear-stress transport <i>k</i> - ω (SSTKO). The velocity fields were comprehensively compared to the experimental results. It was found that the SKO model exhibits a significant mesh dependency and poor convergence. No model can accurately predict the effect of the Reynolds number on velocity fields with an accuracy of <i>R</i> ² ≥ 0.97. Moreover, (1) the SKE model has the best prediction under low or moderate Reynolds numbers (<i>Re</i> ≤ 10000); (2) the RKE model is more applicable under high Reynolds numbers (<i>Re</i> ≥ 10000); (3) the RNGKE model has the worst prediction; (4) the SSTKO model is more applicable under moderate Reynolds numbers (3000 ≤ <i>Re</i> ≤ 10000). It is hoped that these results can guide the selection of RANS models and stimulate greater efforts in creating an appropriate turbulence model that can accurately model such a "simple" case of flow.