Modification of the Two-equation Turbulence Model in NPARC to a Chien Low Reynolds Number K-epsilon Formulation

This report documents the changes that were made to the two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model in the NPARC (National-PARC) code. The previous model based on the low Reynolds number model of Speziale, was replaced with the low Reynolds number k-epsilon model of Chien. The most significant difference was in the turbulent Prandtl numbers appearing in the diffusion terms of the k and epsilon transport equations. A new inflow boundary condition and stability enhancements were also implemented into the turbulence model within NPARC. The report provides the rationale for making the change to the Chien model, code modifications required, and comparisons of the performances of the new model with the previous k-epsilon model and algebraic models used most often in PARC/NPARC. The comparisons show that the Chien k-epsilon model installed here improves the capability of NPARC to calculate turbulent flows.