Turbulent transport dissimilarity with modulated turbulence structure in channel flow of viscoelastic fluid

This experimental study investigated the turbulent transport dissimilarity with a modulated turbulence structure in a channel flow of a viscoelastic fluid using simultaneous particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence measurements. An instantaneous dye concentration field with fluctuating velocity vectors showed that mass was transferred by hierarchically large-scale wavy motions with inclination. A co-spectral analysis showed that the spatial phase modulation of the streamwise velocity and dye concentration fluctuations for the wall-normal velocity fluctuation corresponded to the relaxation time. The occurrence of intense dye concentration fluctuation and small streamwise velocity fluctuation in a thin boundary layer caused dissimilar turbulent transport because of the non-zero negative correlation of the streamwise velocity and dye concentration fluctuations for the wall-normal velocity fluctuation only on large scales. This explains the turbulent transport dissimilarity which leads to the zero averaged Reynolds shear stress and non-zero wall-normal turbulent mass flux.