Calculation and analysis of thermal flow field in hydrodynamic torque converter with a new developed stress-blended eddy simulation

Purpose The flow phenomenon of particle image velocimetry has revealed the transition process of the complex multi-scale vortex between the boundary layer and mainstream region. Nonetheless, present computational fluid dynamics methods inadequately distinguish the discernable flows in detail. A multi-physical field coupling model, which was applied in rotor-stator fluid machinery (Umavathi, 2015; Syawitri et al., 2020), was put forward to ensure the identification of multi-scale vortexes and the improvement of performance prediction in torque converter. Design/methodology/approach A newly-developed multi-physical field simulation framework that coupled the scale-resolving simulation method with a dynamic modified viscosity coefficient was proposed to comparatively investigate the influence of energy exchange on thermal and flow characteristics and the description of the flow field in detail. Findings Regardless of whether quantitative or qualitative, its description ability on turbulence statistics, pressure-streamline, vortex structure and eddy viscosity ratio were visually experimentally and numerically analyzed. The results revealed that the modification of transmission medium viscous can identify flows more exactly between the viscous sublayer and outer boundary layer. Compared with RANS and large eddy simulation, a stress-blended eddy simulation model with a dynamic modified viscosity coefficient, which was further used to achieve blending on the stress level, can effectively solve the calculating problem of the transition region between the near-wall boundary layer and mainstream region. Research limitations/implications This indeed provides an excellent description of the transient flow field and vortex structure in different physical flow states. Furthermore, the experimental data has proven that the maximum error of the external performance prediction was less than 4%. Originality/value An improved model was applied to simulate and analyze the flow mechanism through the evolution of vortex structures in a working chamber, to deepen the designer with a fundamental understanding on how to reduce flow losses and flow non-uniformity in manufacturing.