CFD analysis of a thermal plume and the indoor air flow using k-ε models with buoyancy effects

Turbulence models based on the eddy viscosity concept perform poorly for simulation of non-isothermal flows, which are characterized by strongly non-isotropic features of turbulence. In the present study, a thermal plume is calculated using the WET model and several k-epsilon models. Comparison with the experiments reveals that the WET model predicts the flow and temperature fields most accurately. Furthermore, the WET model has been modified to account for the damping effect near the wall and applied to the indoor air flow. The computed flow field agrees well with the measurement, except for higher temperatures appearing near the walls.