The role of the generalized Phillips' spectrum in wave turbulence

We suggest the generalized Phillips' spectrum, which we define as that spectrum for which the statistical properties of wave turbulence inherit the symmetries of the original governing equations, is, in many circumstances, the spectrum which obtains in those regions of wavenumber space in which the Kolmogorov-Zakharov (KZ) spectra are no longer valid. This spectrum has many very special properties. We discuss its connection with the singularities which are associated with the whitecap events observed in windblown seas.     

Density-PDFs and Lagrangian statistics of highly compressible turbulence

In isothermal, highly compressible turbulent flows, density fluctuations follow a log-normal distribution. We establish a connection between these density fluctuations and the probability-density-functions (PDF) of Lagrangian tracer particles advected with the flow. Our predicted particle statistics is tested against large scale numerical simulations, which were performed with 512³ collocation points and 2 million tracer particles integrated over several dynamical times.     

Cascade model of fully developed turbulence

A simple system of quadratically nonlinear equations representing a hierarchy of frequency scales is derived from a cutoff version of Burgers' equation. When forced, the model system reproduces a number of qualitative features of fully developed turbulence. In equilibrium, the model exhibits, in addition to the energy, an extensive isolating integral of the motion that is cubic in the velocity.This work was aided by a direct grant of computer time from NCAR. This work was in part supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ENG 7408501A02.     

Lattice Boltzmann model for three-dimensional decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence

We implement a lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence based on an analogous Galerkin filter and focus on the fundamental statistical isotropic property. This regularized method is constructed based on orthogonal Hermite polynomial space. For decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence, this regularized method can simulate the isotropic property very well. Numerical studies demonstrate that the novel regularized LBM is a promising approximation of turbulent fluid flows, which paves the way for coupling various turbulent models with LBM.     

The energy spectrum of fully developed turbulence generated by random stirring

For fully developed turbulence in an incompressible fluid described by the Navier-Stokes equations with Gaussian random forces the relation between the energy spectrum and the stirring mechanism is investigated within a variational approach. Therein, the effect of nonlinear mode coupling is approximated by a wave number dependent eddy viscosity determined via a nonlinear integral equation for the energy spectrum. For various stirring spectra analytic approximations are compared with the solution obtained numerically with a cutoff in the integral kernel which ensures in eddy relaxing processes that the stirring forces exert strain only on scales larger than the eddy size. The results are compared with renormalization group calculations and closure approximations. Random forces injecting energy at a ratek ^–1 into the wave number banddk aroundk lead to a Kolmogorov distribution of energy. The spectrum of small-scale velocity fluctuations is shown to be universal in the sense that it remains unchanged under variations of the long wavelength stirring spectra.     

Intermittency of fully developed turbulence

The energy spectrum in the inertial range takes the form $\text{E(k)～ε}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>2</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}\text{k}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?5</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}\text{(kl}{}_0\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?\mu </mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}$, where ε is the mean rate of energy transfer and l₀ is the length scale of the production range. The intermittency exponent μ is determined by introducing a new statistical hypothesis on the basis of the β-model recently proposed by Frisch, Sulem and Nelkin. The result is μ ≈ 0.341 which is in good agreement with the experiments, μ_exp=0.3–0.5.     

Direct numerical simulation of a fully developed compressible wall turbulence over a wavy wall

Compressible turbulent channel flow over a wavy surface is investigated by direct numerical simulations using high-resolution finite difference schemes. The Reynolds number considered in the present paper is 3380 based on the bulk velocity, the channel half-width and the kinetic viscosity at the wall. Four test cases are simulated and analysed at Ma_m = 0.33, 0.8, 1.2, 1.5 based on the bulk velocity and the speed of sound at the wall. We mainly focus on the curvature and the Mach number effects on the compressible turbulent flows. Numerical results show that although the wavy wall has effects on the mean and fluctuation quantities, log law still exists in the distribution of the wave-averaged streamwise velocity if the roughness effects are taken into consideration in the scaling of it. Near-wall streaks are broken by the wavy surface and near-wall quasi-streamwise vortices mostly begin at the upslope of the wave and pass over the crest of it. The wavy wall makes the turbulence more active and the flow easier to be blended. From the viewpoint of turbulent kinetic budgets, curvature effects strengthen both the diffusion terms and the dissipation terms. At the same time, they change the properties of the compressibility-related terms and promote more inner energy transferring into turbulent kinetic energy. As the Mach number increases, the reattachment of the mean flow is delayed, which indicates the mean separation bubble becomes larger. Concerning the near-wall coherent structures, the vortices are more sparsely distributed with the increasing of the Mach number. For the supersonic cases, shock waves appear. Though they have little effects on the mean turbulent quantities, they change the structures of the flow fields and induce local separations at the upper wall of the channel.     

Estimation of nonlinear transfer functions for fully developed turbulence

A statistical method for modeling the linear and quadratically nonlinear relationship between fluctuations monitored at two points in space or time in a turbulent medium is presented. This relationship is described with the aid of linear and quadratic transfer functions and the concept of coherency is extended to quantify the goodness of the quadratic model. A unique feature of the approach described in this paper is that it is valid for non-Gaussian “input” and “output” signals. The validity of the approach is demonstrated with simulation data. The method is applied to experimental data taken in the turbulent edge plasma of the TEXT tokamak. The results indicate a three wave process with energy transfer to large scale fluctuations. The estimation of transfer functions is a first step in quantitatively measuring coupling coefficients and the energy transfer.     

Angle-of-arrival variance’s dependence on the aperture size for indoor convective turbulence

We analyze the angle-of-arrival variance of an expanded and collimated laser beam once it has traveled through an indoor convective turbulence. A continuous position detector is set at the focus of a lens collecting the laser beam. The effect of the different turbulent scales, between the inner and the outer scales, is studied by changing the diameter of a circular pupil before the collector lens. The experimental optical setup follows the design introduced by Masciadri and Vernin [Appl. Opt., 36(6) (1997) 1320]. Tilt data measurements are studied using the fractional Brownian motion model for the turbulent wave-front phase introduced in a previous paper [Pérez et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 21(10) (2004) 1962]. The Hurst exponents associated to different strengths of turbulence are obtained from the here proposed D^2H−2 dependence.     

Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence: Generalized formulation and extension to compressible cases

A general framework that incorporates the Iroshnikov-Kraichnan (IK) and Goldreich-Sridhar (GS) phenomenalogies of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is developed. This affords a clarification of the regimes of validity of the IK and GS models and hence help resolve some controversies on this aspect. This general formulation appears to have a certain robustness as revealed here by its form invariance with respect to inclusion of compressible effects. Generalizations of the IK and GS spectra to compressible MHD turbulence are given. These two branches are shown to merge with the MHD shockwave spectrum, as to be expected, in the infinite compressibility limit.     

Lagrangian statistical theory of fully developed hydrodynamical turbulence

The Lagrangian velocity structure functions in the inertial range of fully developed fluid turbulence are for the first time derived based on the Navier-Stokes equation. For time tau much smaller than the correlation time, the structure functions are shown to obey the scaling relations K_{n}(tau) proportional, varianttau;{zeta_{n}}. The scaling exponents zeta_{n} are calculated analytically without any fitting parameters. The obtained values are in amazing agreement with the experimental results of the Bodenschatz group. A new relation connecting the Lagrangian structure functions of different orders analogously to the extended self-similarity ansatz is found.     

Two-parameter expansion in the renormalization-group analysis of turbulence

The renormalization of the solution of the Navier-Stokes equation for randomly stirred fluid with long-range correlations of the driving force is analysed near two dimensions. It is shown that a local term must be added to the correlation function of the random force for the correct renormalization of the model at two dimensions. The interplay of the short-range and long-range terms in the large-scale behaviour of the model is analysed near two dimensions by the field-theoretic renormalization group. A regular expansion in 2ε=d-2 and δ=2-λ is constructed, whered is the space dimension and λ the exponent of the powerlike correlation function of the driving force. It is shown that in spite of the additional divergences, the asymptotic behaviour of the model near two dimensions is the same as in higher dimensions, contrary to recent conjectures based on an incorrect renormalization procedure.     

Intermittency in the enstrophy cascade of two-dimensional fully developed turbulence: Universal features

Intermittency (externally induced) in the two-dimensional (2D) enstrophy cascade is shown to be able to maintain a finite enstrophy along with a vorticity conservation anomaly. Intermittency mechanisms of three-dimensional (3D) energy cascade and 2D enstrophy cascade in fully developed turbulence (FDT) seem to have some universal features. The parabolic-profile approximation (PPA) for the singularity spectrum f(α) in multi-fractal model is used and extended to the appropriate microscale regimes to exhibit these features. The PPA is also shown to afford, unlike the generic multi-fractal model, an analytical calculation of probability distribution functions (PDF) of flow-variable gradients in these FDT cases and to describe intermittency corrections that complement those provided by the homogeneous-fractal model.