Scale-to-scale energy and enstrophy transport in two-dimensional Rayleigh–Taylor turbulence

2015 ◽  
Vol 786 ◽  
pp. 294-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Zhou ◽  
Yong-Xiang Huang ◽  
Zhi-Ming Lu ◽  
Yu-Lu Liu ◽  
Rui Ni
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Thermal Dissipation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Space Technique ◽  
Small Scales ◽  
The Mean

We apply a recently developed filtering approach, i.e. filter-space technique (FST), to study the scale-to-scale transport of kinetic energy, thermal energy, and enstrophy in two-dimensional (2D) Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) turbulence. Although the scaling laws of the energy cascades in 2D RT systems follow the Bolgiano–Obukhov (BO59) scenario due to buoyancy forces, the kinetic energy is still found to be, on average, dynamically transferred to large scales by an inverse cascade, while both the mean thermal energy and the mean enstrophy move towards small scales by forward cascades. In particular, there is a reasonably extended range over which the transfer rate of thermal energy is scale-independent and equals the corresponding thermal dissipation rate at different times. This range functions similarly to the inertial range for the kinetic energy in the homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. Our results further show that at small scales the fluctuations of the three instantaneous local fluxes are highly asymmetrically distributed and there is a strong correlation between any two fluxes. These small-scale features are signatures of the mixing and dissipation of fluids with steep temperature gradients at the fluid interfaces.

scholarly journals WKB theory for rapid distortion of inhomogeneous turbulence

1999 ◽  
Vol 390 ◽  
pp. 325-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. NAZARENKO ◽  
N. K.-R. KEVLAHAN ◽  
B. DUBRULLE
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Turbulent Spot ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Inhomogeneous Turbulence ◽  
Large Scale Vortex ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Strain

A WKB method is used to extend RDT (rapid distortion theory) to initially inhomogeneous turbulence and unsteady mean flows. The WKB equations describe turbulence wavepackets which are transported by the mean velocity and have wavenumbers which evolve due to the mean strain. The turbulence also modifies the mean flow and generates large-scale vorticity via the averaged Reynolds stress tensor. The theory is applied to Taylor's four-roller flow in order to explain the experimentally observed reduction in the mean strain. The strain reduction occurs due to the formation of a large-scale vortex quadrupole structure from the turbulent spot confined by the four rollers. Both turbulence inhomogeneity and three-dimensionality are shown to be important for this effect. If the initially isotropic turbulence is either homogeneous in space or two-dimensional, it has no effect on the large-scale strain. Furthermore, the turbulent kinetic energy is conserved in the two-dimensional case, which has important consequences for the theory of two-dimensional turbulence. The analytical and numerical results presented here are in good qualitative agreement with experiment.

scholarly journals On energetics and inertial-range scaling laws of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

2012 ◽  
Vol 703 ◽  
pp. 238-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke A. K. Blackbourn ◽  
Chuong V. Tran
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Energy Flux ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Inertial Range ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence ◽  
Direct Energy ◽  
Energy Equipartition

AbstractWe study two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, with an emphasis on its energetics and inertial-range scaling laws. A detailed spectral analysis shows that dynamo triads (those converting kinetic into magnetic energy) are associated with a direct magnetic energy flux while anti-dynamo triads (those converting magnetic into kinetic energy) are associated with an inverse magnetic energy flux. As both dynamo and anti-dynamo interacting triads are integral parts of the direct energy transfer, the anti-dynamo inverse flux partially neutralizes the dynamo direct flux, arguably resulting in relatively weak direct energy transfer and giving rise to dynamo saturation. This result is consistent with a qualitative prediction of energy transfer reduction due to Alfvén wave effects by the Iroshnikov–Kraichnan theory (which was originally formulated for magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in three dimensions). We numerically confirm the correlation between dynamo action and direct magnetic energy flux and investigate the applicability of quantitative aspects of the Iroshnikov–Kraichnan theory to the present case, particularly its predictions of energy equipartition and ${k}^{\ensuremath{-} 3/ 2} $ spectra in the energy inertial range. It is found that for turbulence satisfying the Kraichnan condition of magnetic energy at large scales exceeding total energy in the inertial range, the kinetic energy spectrum, which is significantly shallower than ${k}^{\ensuremath{-} 3/ 2} $, is shallower than its magnetic counterpart. This result suggests no energy equipartition. The total energy spectrum appears to depend on the energy composition of the turbulence but is clearly shallower than ${k}^{\ensuremath{-} 3/ 2} $ for $r\approx 2$, even at moderate resolutions. Here $r\approx 2$ is the magnetic-to-kinetic energy ratio during the stage when the turbulence can be considered fully developed. The implication of the present findings is discussed in conjunction with further numerical results on the dependence of the energy dissipation rate on resolution.

scholarly journals Extreme events in computational turbulence

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (41) ◽  
pp. 12633-12638 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Yeung ◽  
X. M. Zhai ◽  
Katepalli R. Sreenivasan
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Temporal Evolution ◽  
Energy Dissipation Rate ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Homogeneous And Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Grid Points ◽  
Vortex Tubes

We have performed direct numerical simulations of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence in a periodic box with 8,1923grid points. These are the largest simulations performed, to date, aimed at improving our understanding of turbulence small-scale structure. We present some basic statistical results and focus on “extreme” events (whose magnitudes are several tens of thousands the mean value). The structure of these extreme events is quite different from that of moderately large events (of the order of 10 times the mean value). In particular, intense vorticity occurs primarily in the form of tubes for moderately large events whereas it is much more “chunky” for extreme events (though probably overlaid on the traditional vortex tubes). We track the temporal evolution of extreme events and find that they are generally short-lived. Extreme magnitudes of energy dissipation rate and enstrophy occur simultaneously in space and remain nearly colocated during their evolution.

The evolution of a uniformly sheared thermally stratified turbulent flow

1997 ◽  
Vol 334 ◽  
pp. 61-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAUL PICCIRILLO ◽  
CHARLES W. VAN ATTA
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Richardson Number ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Velocity Shear ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Small Scales

Experiments were carried out in a new type of stratified flow facility to study the evolution of turbulence in a mean flow possessing both uniform stable stratification and uniform mean shear.The new facility is a thermally stratified wind tunnel consisting of ten independent supply layers, each with its own blower and heaters, and is capable of producing arbitrary temperature and velocity profiles in the test section. In the experiments, four different sized turbulence-generating grids were used to study the effect of different initial conditions. All three components of the velocity were measured, along with the temperature. Root-mean-square quantities and correlations were measured, along with their corresponding power and cross-spectra.As the gradient Richardson number Ri = N2/(dU/dz)2 was increased, the downstream spatial evolution of the turbulent kinetic energy changed from increasing, to stationary, to decreasing. The stationary value of the Richardson number, Ricr, was found to be an increasing function of the dimensionless shear parameter Sq2/∈ (where S = dU/dz is the mean velocity shear, q2 is the turbulent kinetic energy, and ∈ is the viscous dissipation).The turbulence was found to be highly anisotropic, both at the small scales and at the large scales, and anisotropy was found to increase with increasing Ri. The evolution of the velocity power spectra for Ri [les ] Ricr, in which the energy of the large scales increases while the energy in the small scales decreases, suggests that the small-scale anisotropy is caused, or at least amplified, by buoyancy forces which reduce the amount of spectral energy transfer from large to small scales. For the largest values of Ri, countergradient buoyancy flux occurred for the small scales of the turbulence, an effect noted earlier in the numerical results of Holt et al. (1992), Gerz et al. (1989), and Gerz & Schumann (1991).

scholarly journals Scaling Laws and Regime Transitions of Macroturbulence in Dry Atmospheres

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 2153-2173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapio Schneider ◽  
Christopher C. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Potential Energy ◽  
Surface Potential ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Eddy Kinetic Energy ◽  
Eddy Flux ◽  
Available Potential Energy ◽  
Mean Fields ◽  
The Mean

Abstract In simulations of a wide range of circulations with an idealized general circulation model, clear scaling laws of dry atmospheric macroturbulence emerge that are consistent with nonlinear eddy–eddy interactions being weak. The simulations span several decades of eddy energies and include Earth-like circulations and circulations with multiple jets and belts of surface westerlies in each hemisphere. In the simulations, the eddy available potential energy and the barotropic and baroclinic eddy kinetic energy scale linearly with each other, with the ratio of the baroclinic eddy kinetic energy to the barotropic eddy kinetic energy and eddy available potential energy decreasing with increasing planetary radius and rotation rate. Mean values of the meridional eddy flux of surface potential temperature and of the vertically integrated convergence of the meridional eddy flux of zonal momentum generally scale with functions of the eddy energies and the energy-containing eddy length scale, with a few exceptions in simulations with statically near-neutral or neutral extratropical thermal stratifications. Eddy energies scale with the mean available potential energy and with a function of the supercriticality, a measure of the near-surface slope of isentropes. Strongly baroclinic circulations form an extended regime in which eddy energies scale linearly with the mean available potential energy. Mean values of the eddy flux of surface potential temperature and of the vertically integrated eddy momentum flux convergence scale similarly with the mean available potential energy and other mean fields. The scaling laws for the dependence of eddy fields on mean fields exhibit a regime transition between a regime in which the extratropical thermal stratification and tropopause height are controlled by radiation and convection and a regime in which baroclinic entropy fluxes modify the extratropical thermal stratification and tropopause height. At the regime transition, for example, the dependence of the eddy flux of surface potential temperature and the dependence of the vertically integrated eddy momentum flux convergence on mean fields changes—a result with implications for climate stability and for the general circulation of an atmosphere, including its tropical Hadley circulation.

scholarly journals Enhanced enstrophy generation for turbulent convection in low-Prandtl-number fluids

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (31) ◽  
pp. 9530-9535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Schumacher ◽  
Paul Götzfried ◽  
Janet D. Scheel
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Prandtl Number ◽  
Kinematic Viscosity ◽  
Isotropic Turbulence ◽  
Turbulent Convection ◽  
Principal Strain ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Liquid Mercury

Turbulent convection is often present in liquids with a kinematic viscosity much smaller than the diffusivity of the temperature. Here we reveal why these convection flows obey a much stronger level of fluid turbulence than those in which kinematic viscosity and thermal diffusivity are the same; i.e., the Prandtl number Pr is unity. We compare turbulent convection in air at Pr=0.7 and in liquid mercury at Pr=0.021. In this comparison the Prandtl number at constant Grashof number Gr is varied, rather than at constant Rayleigh number Ra as usually done. Our simulations demonstrate that the turbulent Kolmogorov-like cascade is extended both at the large- and small-scale ends with decreasing Pr. The kinetic energy injection into the flow takes place over the whole cascade range. In contrast to convection in air, the kinetic energy injection rate is particularly enhanced for liquid mercury for all scales larger than the characteristic width of thermal plumes. As a consequence, mean values and fluctuations of the local strain rates are increased, which in turn results in significantly enhanced enstrophy production by vortex stretching. The normalized distributions of enstrophy production in the bulk and the ratio of the principal strain rates are found to agree for both Prs. Despite the different energy injection mechanisms, the principal strain rates also agree with those in homogeneous isotropic turbulence conducted at the same Reynolds numbers as for the convection flows. Our results have thus interesting implications for small-scale turbulence modeling of liquid metal convection in astrophysical and technological applications.

Turbulent Flow Past a Surface-Mounted Two-Dimensional Rib

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Acharya ◽  
S. Dutta ◽  
T. A. Myrum ◽  
R. S. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Duct Flow ◽  
Core Flow ◽  
The Core ◽  
Separated Shear Layer ◽  
Flow Past ◽  
The Mean

The ability of the nonlinear k–ε turbulence model to predict the flow in a separated duct flow past a wall-mounted, two-dimensional rib was assessed through comparisons with the standard k–ε model and experimental results. Improved predictions of the streamwise turbulence intensity and the mean streamwise velocities near the high-speed edge of the separated shear layer and in the flow downstream of reattachment were obtained with the nonlinear model. More realistic predictions of the production and dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy near reattachment were also obtained. Otherwise, the performance of the two models was comparable, with both models performing quite well in the core flow regions and close to reattachment and both models performing poorly in the separated and shear-layer regions close to the rib.

Small-scale two-dimensional turbulence shaped by bulk viscosity

2019 ◽  
Vol 875 ◽  
pp. 974-1003
Author(s):  
Emile Touber
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Bulk Viscosity ◽  
Shear Viscosity ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Turbulence Kinetic Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Large Bulk ◽  
High Bulk

Bulk-to-shear viscosity ratios of three orders of magnitude are often reported in carbon dioxide but are always neglected when predicting aerothermal loads in external (Mars exploration) or internal (turbomachinery, heat exchanger) turbulent flows. The recent (and first) numerical investigations of that matter suggest that the solenoidal turbulence kinetic energy is in fact well predicted despite this seemingly arbitrary simplification. The present work argues that such a conclusion may reflect limitations from the choice of configuration rather than provide a definite statement on the robustness of kinetic-energy transfers to the use of Stokes’ hypothesis. Two distinct asymptotic regimes (Euler–Landau and Stokes–Newton) in the eigenmodes of the Navier–Stokes equations are identified. In the Euler–Landau regime, the one captured by earlier studies, acoustic and entropy waves are damped by transport coefficients and the dilatational kinetic energy is dissipated, even more rapidly for high bulk-viscosity fluids and/or forcing frequencies. If the kinetic energy is initially or constantly injected through solenoidal motions, effects on the turbulence kinetic energy remain minor. However, in the Stokes–Newton regime, diffused bulk compressions and advected isothermal compressions are found to prevail and promote small-scale enstrophy via vorticity–dilatation correlations. In the absence of bulk viscosity, the transition to the Stokes–Newton regime occurs within the dissipative scales and is not observed in practice. In contrast, at high bulk viscosities, the Stokes–Newton regime can be made to overlap with the inertial range and disrupt the enstrophy at small scales, which is then dissipated by friction. Thus, flows with substantial inertial ranges and large bulk-to-shear viscosity ratios should experience enhanced transfers to small-scale solenoidal kinetic energy, and therefore faster dissipation rates leading to modifications of the heat-transfer properties. Observing numerically such transfers is still prohibitively expensive, and the present simulations are restricted to two-dimensional turbulence. However, the theory laid here offers useful guidelines to design experimental studies to track the Stokes–Newton regime and associated modifications of the turbulence kinetic energy, which are expected to persist in three-dimensional turbulence.

Control of Large-Scale Heat Transport by Small-Scale Mixing

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1877-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Cessi ◽  
W. R. Young ◽  
Jeff A. Polton
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transport ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Leading Order ◽  
Diapycnal Diffusivity ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The equilibrium of an idealized flow driven at the surface by wind stress and rapid relaxation to nonuniform buoyancy is analyzed in terms of entropy production, mechanical energy balance, and heat transport. The flow is rapidly rotating, and dissipation is provided by bottom drag. Diabatic forcing is transmitted from the surface by isotropic diffusion of buoyancy. The domain is periodic so that zonal averaging provides a useful decomposition of the flow into mean and eddy components. The statistical equilibrium is characterized by quantities such as the lateral buoyancy flux and the thermocline depth; here, scaling laws are proposed for these quantities in terms of the external parameters. The scaling theory predicts relations between heat transport, thermocline depth, bottom drag, and diapycnal diffusivity, which are confirmed by numerical simulations. The authors find that the depth of the thermocline is independent of the diapycnal mixing to leading order, but depends on the bottom drag. This dependence arises because the mean stratification is due to a balance between the large-scale wind-driven heat transport and the heat transport due to baroclinic eddies. The eddies equilibrate at an amplitude that depends to leading order on the bottom drag. The net poleward heat transport is a residual between the mean and eddy heat transports. The size of this residual is determined by the details of the diapycnal diffusivity. If the diffusivity is uniform (as in laboratory experiments) then the heat transport is linearly proportional to the diffusivity. If a mixed layer is incorporated by greatly increasing the diffusivity in a thin surface layer then the net heat transport is dominated by the model mixed layer.

scholarly journals Spectral analysis of the transition to turbulence from a dipole in stratified fluid

2012 ◽  
Vol 713 ◽  
pp. 86-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Augier ◽  
Jean-Marc Chomaz ◽  
Paul Billant
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Stratified Fluid ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractWe investigate the spectral properties of the turbulence generated during the nonlinear evolution of a Lamb–Chaplygin dipole in a stratified fluid for a high Reynolds number $Re= 28\hspace{0.167em} 000$ and a wide range of horizontal Froude number ${F}_{h} \in [0. 0225~0. 135] $ and buoyancy Reynolds number $\mathscr{R}= Re{{F}_{h} }^{2} \in [14~510] $. The numerical simulations use a weak hyperviscosity and are therefore almost direct numerical simulations (DNS). After the nonlinear development of the zigzag instability, both shear and gravitational instabilities develop and lead to a transition to small scales. A spectral analysis shows that this transition is dominated by two kinds of transfer: first, the shear instability induces a direct non-local transfer toward horizontal wavelengths of the order of the buoyancy scale ${L}_{b} = U/ N$, where $U$ is the characteristic horizontal velocity of the dipole and $N$ the Brunt–Väisälä frequency; second, the destabilization of the Kelvin–Helmholtz billows and the gravitational instability lead to small-scale weakly stratified turbulence. The horizontal spectrum of kinetic energy exhibits a ${{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{h}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ power law (where ${k}_{h} $ is the horizontal wavenumber and ${\varepsilon }_{K} $ is the dissipation rate of kinetic energy) from ${k}_{b} = 2\lrm{\pi} / {L}_{b} $ to the dissipative scales, with an energy deficit between the integral scale and ${k}_{b} $ and an excess around ${k}_{b} $. The vertical spectrum of kinetic energy can be expressed as $E({k}_{z} )= {C}_{N} {N}^{2} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 3} + C{{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ where ${C}_{N} $ and $C$ are two constants of order unity and ${k}_{z} $ is the vertical wavenumber. It is therefore very steep near the buoyancy scale with an ${N}^{2} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 3} $ shape and approaches the ${{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ spectrum for ${k}_{z} \gt {k}_{o} $, ${k}_{o} $ being the Ozmidov wavenumber, which is the cross-over between the two scaling laws. A decomposition of the vertical spectra depending on the horizontal wavenumber value shows that the ${N}^{2} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 3} $ spectrum is associated with large horizontal scales $\vert {\mathbi{k}}_{h} \vert \lt {k}_{b} $ and the ${{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ spectrum with the scales $\vert {\mathbi{k}}_{h} \vert \gt {k}_{b} $.

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