Stability and non-normality of the k-ε equations

The analytical and numerical solutions of the equations of the k-ε turbulence model are analyzed. Under certain conditions on the boundary values and the interior values of k and ε the analytical and numerical solutions are bounded. If the steady state solution is obtained numerically by a Runge-Kutta time-stepping method, then severe constraints on the time-step and the non-normality of the jacobian matrix make the convergence very slow. The simplifications and conclusions are supported by data from a numerical solution of flow over a flat plate.