Some results on the Navier-Stokes equations in connection with the statistical theory of stationary turbulence

Some rigorous results connected with the conventional statistical theory of turbulence in both the two- and three-dimensional cases are discussed. Such results are based on the concept of stationary statistical solution, related to the notion of ensemble average for turbulence in statistical equilibrium, and concern, in particular, the mean kinetic energy and enstrophy fluxes and their corresponding cascades. Some of the results are developed here in the case of nonsmooth boundaries and a less regular forcing term and for arbitrary stationary statistical solutions.     

Metric and ultrametric spaces of resistances

Consider an electrical circuit, each edge e of which is an isotropic conductor with a monomial conductivity function . In this formula, y_e is the potential difference and current in e, while μ_e is the resistance of e; furthermore, r and s are two strictly positive real parameters common for all edges. In particular, the case r=s=1 corresponds to the standard Ohm’s law.In 1987, Gvishiani and Gurvich [A.D. Gvishiani, V.A. Gurvich, Metric and ultrametric spaces of resistances, in: Communications of the Moscow Mathematical Society, Russian Math. Surveys 42 (6 (258)) (1987) 235-236] proved that, for every two nodes a,b of the circuit, the effective resistance μ_a,b is well-defined and for every three nodes a,b,c the inequality holds. It obviously implies the standard triangle inequality μ_a,b≤μ_a,c+μ_c,b whenever s≥r. For the case s=r=1, these results were rediscovered in the 1990s. Now, after 23 years, I venture to reproduce the proof of the original result for the following reasons:

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It is more general than just the case r=s=1 and one can get several interesting metric and ultrametric spaces playing with parameters r and s. In particular, (i) the effective Ohm resistance, (ii) the length of a shortest path, (iii) the inverse width of a bottleneck path, and (iv) the inverse capacity (maximum flow per unit time) between any pair of terminals a and b provide four examples of the resistance distances μ_a,b that can be obtained from the above model by the following limit transitions: (i) r(t)=s(t)≡1, (ii) r(t)=s(t)→∞, (iii) r(t)≡1,s(t)→∞, and (iv) r(t)→0,s(t)≡1, as t→∞. In all four cases the limits μ_a,b=lim_t→∞μ_a,b(t) exist for all pairs a,b and the metric inequality μ_a,b≤μ_a,c+μ_c,b holds for all triplets a,b,c, since s(t)≥r(t) for any sufficiently large t. Moreover, the stronger ultrametric inequality μ_a,b≤max(μ_a,c,μ_c,b) holds for all triplets a,b,c in examples (iii) and (iv), since in these two cases s(t)/r(t)→∞, as t→∞.

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Communications of the Moscow Math. Soc. in Russ. Math. Surveys were (and still are) strictly limited to two pages; the present paper is much more detailed.Although a translation in English of the Russ. Math. Surveys is available, it is not free in the web and not that easy to find.

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The last but not least: priority.

     

A similarity theory of approximate deconvolution models of turbulence

We apply the phenomenology of homogeneous, isotropic turbulence to the family of approximate deconvolution models proposed by Stolz and Adams. In particular, we establish that the models themselves have an energy cascade with two asymptotically different inertial ranges. Delineation of these gives insight into the resolution requirements of using approximate deconvolution models. The approximate deconvolution model's energy balance contains both an enhanced energy dissipation and a modification to the model's kinetic energy. The modification of the model's kinetic energy induces a secondary energy cascade which accelerates scale truncation. The enhanced energy dissipation completes the scale truncation by reducing the model's micro-scale from the Kolmogorov micro-scale.     

The new theory of ultrametric spaces

Conclusion Hopefully, this presentation of the general theory of ultrametric spaces may already hint of the interest of this study. Detailed proofs may be found in [Pr-Cr, Ri1], [Pr-Cr, Ri2].Dedicated to my friend László Fuchs on his 70th birthday     

A rate-dependent algebraic stress model for turbulence

Based on the stress transport model, a rate-dependent algebraic expression for the Reynolds stress tensor is developed. It is shown that the new model includes the normal stress effects and exhibits viscoelastic behavior. Furthermore, it is compatible with recently developed improved models of turbulence. The model is also consistent with the limiting behavior of turbulence in the inertial sublayer and is capable of predicting secondary flows in noncircular ducts. The TEACH code is modified according to the requirements of the rate-dependent model and is used to predict turbulent flow fields in a channel and behind a backward-facing step. The predicted results are compared with the available experimental data and those obtained from the standard k-ε and algebraic stress models. It is shown that the predictions of the new model are in better agreements with the experimental data.     

Influence of turbulence model constants and boundary conditions on the computed hydrodynamic variables in gas-stirred reactors

A finite difference procedure has been employed to obtain numerical predictions of recirculating flows in gas-stirred reactors. Sensitivity of alternative boundary conditions at gas-liquid interface as well as empirical constants of the turbulence model on the predicted flow field have been investigated.     

Pseudospectral reduction of incompressible two-dimensional turbulence

Spectral reduction was originally formulated entirely in the wavenumber domain as a coarse-grained wavenumber convolution in which bins of modes interact with enhanced coupling coefficients. A Liouville theorem leads to inviscid equipartition solutions when each bin contains the same number of modes. A pseudospectral implementation of spectral reduction which enjoys the efficiency of the fast Fourier transform is described. The model compares well with full pseudospectral simulations of the two-dimensional forced-dissipative energy and enstrophy cascades.     

Effects of plane strain on inhomogeneous turbulence

The influence of the mean plane strain on the turbulence transportation is investigated by large eddy simulation (LES) in the shearless turbulence mixing layer. It is found that the mean strains enhance the turbulent fluctuations in the mixing region. Compression in the inhomogeneous direction can greatly increase the transport of turbulent kinetic energy by triple correlation terms, while stretching in the inhomogeneous direction decreases the turbulence transportation. The gradient diffusion models for turbulent transportation are evaluated and it is found that the intermittency consideration can improve the prediction ability of the gradient-type models for the triple correlation terms. Project supported by the Sino-French Laboratory in Beijing and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 19572041).     

On the global attractor of 2D incompressible turbulence with random forcing

This study revisits bounds on the projection of the global attractor in the energy–enstrophy plane for 2D incompressible turbulence [Dascaliuc, Foias, and Jolly, 2005, 2010]. In addition to providing more elegant proofs of some of the required nonlinear identities, the treatment is extended from the case of constant forcing to the more realistic case of random forcing. Numerical simulations in particular often use a stochastic white-noise forcing to achieve a prescribed mean energy injection rate. The analytical bounds are demonstrated numerically for the case of white-noise forcing.     

Direct numerical simulation of compressible isotropic turbulence

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of decaying compressible isotropic turbulence at turbulence Mach numbers of M_t = 0.2-0.7 and Taylor Reynolds numbers of 72 and 153 is performed by using the 7th order upwind-biased difference and 8th order center difference schemes. Results show that proper upwind-biased difference schemes can release the limit of“start-up” problem to Mach numbers. Compressibility effects on the statistics of turbulent flow as well as the mechanics of shocklets in compressible turbulence are also studied, and the conclusion is drawn that high Mach number leads to more dissipation. Scaling laws in compressible turbulence are also analyzed. Evidence is obtained that scaling laws and extended self similarity (ESS) hold in the compressible turbulent flow in spite of the presence of shocklets, and compressibility has little effect on scaling exponents.     

Thermodynamics of multi-temperature fluids with applications to turbulence modelling

The thermodynamics of a fluid with several distinct temperatures is considered. The balance laws are studied and a set of linear constitutive equations is derived; equations of motion are obtained and discussed. The application of the developed theory to turbulence modelling is studied and results are shown to be consistent with the one-equation models of turbulence. The thermodynamics of turbulence is also briefly discussed.     

Direct numerical simulation of transition and turbulence in compressible mixing layer

The three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations are approximated by a fifth order upwind compact and a sixth order symmetrical compact difference relations combined with three-stage Ronge-Kutta method. The computed results are presented for convective Mach numberMc = 0.8 andRe = 200 with initial data which have equal and opposite oblique waves. From the computed results we can see the variation of coherent structures with time integration and full process of instability, formation of A -vortices, double horseshoe vortices and mushroom structures. The large structures break into small and smaller vortex structures. Finally, the movement of small structure becomes dominant, and flow field turns into turbulence. It is noted that production of small vortex structures is combined with turning of symmetrical structures to unsymmetrical ones. It is shown in the present computation that the flow field turns into turbulence directly from initial instability and there is not vortex pairing in process of transition. It means that for large convective Mach number the transition mechanism for compressible mixing layer differs from that in incompressible mixing layer.     

Numerical simulation of anomalous plasma transport in the presence of magnetic turbulence

The structure of plasma in the interplanetary space is briefly presented, and the problems related to the variability of solar activity are discussed. The features of magnetic turbulence in the solar wind are also described. Magnetic field fluctuations are one of the causes of enhanced transport both in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. To a first approximation, the plasma particles follow the magnetic field lines, whose equations form a non-linear one and a half degrees of freedom system. Unless the fluctuation level is very low, numerical simulations are needed to study such a system. We review three-dimensional numerical simulations of field line transport in anisotropic magnetic turbulence. Several transport regimes are found: for low Kubo number, anomalous transport is obtained, featuring both subdiffusion, corresponding to trapping in cantori structures, and superdiffusion, corresponding to Levy flights in the stochastic layer. Increasing the Kubo number, and hence stochasticity, quasilinear, intermediate, and percolative regimes are found, in the order. An expression of the diffusion coefficient valid for generalized anisotropy is presented.     

Existence theory of abstract approximate deconvolution models of turbulence

This report studies an abstract approach to modeling the motion of large eddies in a turbulent flow. If the Navier-Stokes equations (NSE) are averaged with a local, spatial convolution type filter, , the resulting system is not closed due to the filtered nonlinear term . An approximate deconvolution operator D is a bounded linear operator which is an approximate filter inverse

A spectroscopic investigation of turbulence in magnetized plasmas

We present a spectroscopic investigation of turbulence in the Tore-Supra edge plasma, where deuterium spectral lines are found to exhibit a power-law behavior in their wings. Such a feature is not predicted by the equilibrium line broadening theory in the conditions of the edge plasma, where the thermal Stark effect is negligible. Therefore, the possible role of turbulence is investigated along two separate paths. Indeed, both the Stark and the Doppler profiles may differ significantly from the equilibrium profiles.     

Toward a formal theory of model integration

The aim of this paper is to provide the first steps toward a formal theory of model integration. This is supported at least by three arguments: (a) increasing the productivity of the modeling work; (b) decreasing errors; (c) saving time and money. Of course, any formal theory has to be based on a given framework; in our case, we consider only models which satisfy the core concepts of Structured Modeling. The outline of the paper is as follows. After the motivations are pointed out, some preliminary results are given in section 2. Section 3 defines the levels of integration, while in sections 4 and 5 some examples are presented. Remarks and future extensions conclude the paper.On leave from the University of Siena on a fellowship from CNR, Italy. Permanent address: Department of Quantitative Methods, Piazza S. Francesco 17, I-53100 Siena, Italy (contact author).     

Toward A geometric theory of minimax equalities

We present new ideas and concepts in minimax equalities. Two important classes of multifunctions will be singled out, the Weak Passy-Prisman multifunctions and multifunctions possessing the finite simplex property. To each class of multifunctions corresponds a class of functions. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for a multifunction to have the finite intersection property, and necessary and sufficient conditions for a function to be a minimax function. All our results specialize to sharp improvements of known theorems, Sion, Tuy, Passy-Prisman, Flåm-Greco. One feature of our approach is that no topology is required on the space of the maximization variable. In a previous paper [6] we presented a “method of reconstruction of polytopes” from a given family of subsets, this in turn lead to a “principle of reconstruction of convex sets” Theorem 3, which plays a major role in this paper. Our intersection theorems bear no obvious relationship to other results of the same kind, like K.K.M. or other more elementary approaches based on connectedness. We conclude our work with a remark on the role of upper and lower semicontinuous regularization in mimmax equalities     

Numerical modelling of subcritical open channel flow using the K-ε turbulence model and the penalty function finite element technique

A numerical model has been developed that employs the penalty function finite element technique to solve the vertically averaged hydrodynamic and turbulence model equations for a water body using isoparametric elements. The full elliptic forms of the equations are solved, thereby allowing recirculating flows to be calculated. Alternative momentum dispersion and turbulence closure models are proposed and evaluated by comparing model predictions with experimental data for strongly curved subcritical open channel flow. The results of these simulations indicate that the depth-averaged two-equation k-ε turbulence model yields excellent agreement with experimental observations. In addition, it appears that neither the streamline curvature modification of the depth-averaged k-ε model, nor the momentum dispersion models based on the assumption of helicoidal flow in a curved channel, yield significant improvement in the present model predictions. Overall model predictions are found to be as good as those of a more complex and restricted three-dimensional model.