Different transport regimes in a spatially-extended recirculating background

Passive scalar transport in a spatially-extended background of roll convection is considered in the time-periodic regime. The latter arises due to the even oscillatory instability of the cell lateral boundary, here accounted for by sinusoidal oscillations of frequency $\omega$. By varying the latter parameter, the strength of anticorrelated regions of the velocity field can be controled and the conditions under which either an enhancement or a reduction of transport takes place can be created. Such two ubiquitous regimes are triggered by a small-scale(random) velocity field superimposed to the recirculating background. The crucial point is played by the dependence of Lagrangian trajectories on the statistical properties of the small-scale velocity field, e.g. its correlation time or its energy.Comment: 9 pages Latex; 5 figure

Large-Eddy Simulation closures of passive scalar turbulence: a systematic approach

The issue of the parameterization of small scale (``subgrid'') turbulence is addressed in the context of passive scalar transport. We focus on the Kraichnan advection model which lends itself to the analytical investigation of the closure problem. We derive systematically the dynamical equations which rule the evolution of the coarse-grained scalar field. At the lowest-order approximation in $l/r$, $l$ being the characteristic scale of the filter defining the coarse-grained scalar field and $r$ the inertial range separation, we recover the classical eddy-diffusivity parameterization of small scales. At the next-leading order a dynamical closure is obtained. The latter outperforms the classical model and is therefore a natural candidate for subgrid modelling of scalar transport in generic turbulent flows.Comment: 10 LaTex pages, 1 PS figure. Changes: comments added below previous (3.10); Previous (3.16) has been corrected; Minor changes in the conclusion

Flapping states of an el astically anchored wing in a uniform flow

Linear stability analysis of an elastically anchored wing in a uniform flow is investigated both analytically and numerically. The analytical formulation explicitly takes into account the effect of the wake on the wing by means of Theodorsen's theory. Three different parameters non-trivially rule the observed dynamics: mass density ratio between wing and fluid, spring elastic constant and distance between the wing center of mass and the spring anchor point on the wing. We found relationships between these parameters which rule the transition between stable equilibrium and fluttering. The shape of the resulting marginal curve has been successfully verified by high Reynolds number direct numerical simulations. Our findings are of interest in applications related to energy harvesting by fluid-structure interaction, a problem which has recently attracted a great deal of attention. The main aim in that context is to identify the optimal physical/geometrical system configuration leading to large sustained motion, which is the source of energy we aim to extract.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, submitted to J. Fluid. Mec

Decomposition of Differential Games with Multiple Targets

This paper provides a decomposition technique for the purpose of simplifying the solution of certain zero-sum differential games. The games considered terminate when the state reaches a target, which can be expressed as the union of a collection of target subsets considered as ‘multiple targets’; the decomposition consists in replacing the original target by each of the target subsets. The value of the original game is then obtained as the lower envelope of the values of the collection of games, resulting from the decomposition, which can be much easier to solve than the original game. Criteria are given for the validity of the decomposition. The paper includes examples, illustrating the application of the technique to pursuit/evasion games and to flow control