Numerical Investigation of Turbulence Structures Within and Above A Corn Canopy Using Large Eddy Simulation

Interaction between canopy and atmosphere results in complex structures of turbulence, which greatly changes the transport mechanism of kinetic energy and momentum. This study aims to investigate turbulence structures within and above a corn canopy using large-eddy simulation. The corn canopy is modeled in two different ways based on the horizontal scale of computational domain. The large-scale model takes into account the global effects of corn plants. The small-scale model accounts for specific displacement and shape of field corn plants and aims to study flow structures induced by individual corn plant. The predicted flow characteristics and turbulence statistics, such as mean velocity profiles, turbulence intensity, velocity skewness, correlation coefficient, energy power spectra, etc., will compare with those of our field PIV measurements and some field measurement data of Shaw et al. (1974) and Wilson et al. (1982). The organized flow structures will also be presented, which may help disclose the mechanism of momentum and energy transport of canopy flows.