Evaluation of Reynolds stress MHD turbulence models using decaying homogeneous turbulence

Direct numerical simulation databases and theoretical analysis for decaying homogeneous turbulent flow in a conducting fluid subjected to an imposed magnetic field are investigated to evaluate the second-order models proposed by Widlund et al. and Kenjeres et al. The case of very small magnetic Reynolds numbers ( Re m ≪ 1 ) is considered in the present work. This case corresponds to the quasi-static approximation, which is well suited for most industrial flows involving liquid metals. The results obtained from our calculations show the performance of the model of Widlund et al. in predicting the Lorentz force effects compared with the model of Kenjeres et al.