Discrete Vortex Modelling of Turbulent Flow in Two Dimensions

There has been growing need to characterize the turbulent flow through a simplified model. This paper reports the characterization of turbulent flow in two dimensions using discrete vortex modelling. The free surface flow in channel is considered as a case study. Appropriate flow charts and FORTRAN source codes were developed to solve the main governing equations of fluid flow. The Reynolds number which is the control parameter from 100,000 (experimental transition point) at an interval of 10,000 to 1,000,000 is used and the result is displayed using Microsoft Excel Graph. After the four stages of transition process due to Helmholtz instability, the turbulent region is reached, which is characterized by irregularity, low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of velocity. The result has shown that turbulent flow can be characterized with ease by using discrete vortex modelling.