Addressing the Grid-Size Sensitivity Issue in Large-Eddy Simulations of Stable Boundary Layers

Journal article (2020)

Authors

Y. Dai Atmospheric Remote Sensing - CEG
S. Basu Atmospheric Remote Sensing - CEG
Björn Maronga Leibniz University Hannover, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
S.R. de Roode Atmospheric Remote Sensing - CEG
Research Group
Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CEG) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2020 Y. Dai, S. Basu, Björn Maronga, S.R. de Roode
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-020-00558-1
Stable boundary layer Buoyancy length scale Subgrid-scale model Prandtl number
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Published Date

2020

Language

English

Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Research Group

Atmospheric Remote Sensing

Abstract

We have identified certain fundamental limitations of a mixing-length parametrization used in a popular turbulent kinetic energy-based subgrid-scale model. Replacing this parametrization with a more physically realistic one significantly improves the overall quality of the large-eddy simulation (LES) of stable boundary layers. For the range of grid sizes considered here (specifically, 1 m–12.5 m), the revision dramatically reduces the grid-size sensitivity of the simulations. Most importantly, the revised scheme allows us to reliably estimate the first- and second-order statistics of a well-known LES intercomparison case, even with a coarse grid size of O(10 m).