Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Vol. 10, No. 4, 2010 195 Recent progress in dynamic tensor diffusivity subgrid-scale modelling for LES of turbulent heat transfer Bing-Chen Wang* and Qian-Qiu Xun Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, R3T 5V6, MB, Canada Fax: (204) 275-7507 E-mail: bc_wang@umanitoba.ca E-mail: umxunq@cc.umanitoba.ca *Corresponding author Donald J. Bergstrom Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A9, Canada E-mail: don.bergstrom@usask.ca Eugene Yee Defence R&D Canada – Suffield, P.O. Box 4000, STN Main, Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 8K6, Canada E-mail: eugene.yee@drdc-rddc.gc.ca Abstract: In this paper, we review the recent progress in dynamic Subgrid-Scale (SGS) Heat-Flux (HF) modelling for Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) of turbulent thermal convection. A general framework applied towards the development of advanced explicit algebraic dynamic tensor diffusivity SGS HF models will be provided. Most of the currently available explicit algebraic SGS HF models based on a symmetrical tensor diffusivity can be derived using this general framework for modelling. An application of the derived SGS HF models will be illustrated with results from numerical simulations of thermal convection in vertical, horizonal, and rotating channels. Keywords: turbulence; heat transfer; convection; LES; large-eddy simulation; subgrid-scale model. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Wang, B-C., Xun, Q-Q., Bergstrom, D.J. and Yee, E. (2010) ‘Recent progress in dynamic tensor diffusivity subgrid-scale modelling for LES of turbulent heat transfer’, Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp.195–207. Biographical notes: Bing-Chen Wang has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Manitoba since 2008. After receiving his PhD Degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2004, he was awarded a NSERC Visiting Fellowship to conduct postdoctoral research at Defence Research & Development Canada, in Suffield, Alberta. After completing his three-year postdoctoral program, he was appointed as a Defence Scientist with Defence R&D Canada – Suffield one year before he joined the University of Manitoba. His current research interests include large-eddy simulation, hybrid RANS/LES, environmental flow and dispersion, turbulence modelling, convective heat and mass transfer, and high-performance scientific computing. Qian-Qiu Xun is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Manitoba. He obtained his BSc Degree in Environmental Engineering from Xian Jiaotong University in 2007, and obtained his MSc Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manitoba in 2009. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.