10,911 research outputs found
The PDF method for turbulent combustion
Probability Density Function (PDF) methods provide a means of calculating the properties of turbulent reacting flows. They have been successfully applied to many turbulent flames, including some with finite rate kinetic effects. Here the methods are reviewed with an emphasis on computational issues and their application to turbulent combustion
Joint statistics of acceleration and vorticity in fully developed turbulence
We report results from a high resolution numerical study of fluid particles
transported by a fully developed turbulent flow. Single particle trajectories
were followed for a time range spanning more than three decades, from less than
a tenth of the Kolmogorov time-scale up to one large-eddy turnover time. We
present results concerning acceleration statistics and the statistics of
trapping by vortex filaments conditioned to the local values of vorticity and
enstrophy. We distinguish two different behaviors between the joint statistics
of vorticity and centripetal acceleration or vorticity and longitudinal
acceleration.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Pressure algorithm for elliptic flow calculations with the PDF method
An algorithm to determine the mean pressure field for elliptic flow calculations with the probability density function (PDF) method is developed and applied. The PDF method is a most promising approach for the computation of turbulent reacting flows. Previous computations of elliptic flows with the method were in conjunction with conventional finite volume based calculations that provided the mean pressure field. The algorithm developed and described here permits the mean pressure field to be determined within the PDF calculations. The PDF method incorporating the pressure algorithm is applied to the flow past a backward-facing step. The results are in good agreement with data for the reattachment length, mean velocities, and turbulence quantities including triple correlations
An exact relation between Eulerian and Lagrangian velocity increment statistics
We present a formal connection between Lagrangian and Eulerian velocity
increment distributions which is applicable to a wide range of turbulent
systems ranging from turbulence in incompressible fluids to magnetohydrodynamic
turbulence. For the case of the inverse cascade regime of two-dimensional
turbulence we numerically estimate the transition probabilities involved in
this connection. In this context we are able to directly identify the processes
leading to strongly non-Gaussian statistics for the Lagrangian velocity
increments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
The 3D structure of the Lagrangian acceleration in turbulent flows
We report experimental results on the three dimensional Lagrangian
acceleration in highly turbulent flows. Tracer particles are tracked optically
using four silicon strip detectors from high energy physics that provide high
temporal and spatial resolution. The components of the acceleration are shown
to be statistically dependent. The probability density function (PDF) of the
acceleration magnitude is comparable to a log-normal distribution. Assuming
isotropy, a log-normal distribution of the magnitude can account for the
observed dependency of the components. The time dynamics of the acceleration
components is found to be typical of the dissipation scales whereas the
magnitude evolves over longer times, possibly close to the integral time scale.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Galilean invariance and homogeneous anisotropic randomly stirred flows
The Ward-Takahashi (WT) identities for incompressible flow implied by
Galilean invariance are derived for the randomly forced Navier-Stokes equation
(NSE), in which both the mean and fluctuating velocity components are
explicitly present. The consequences of Galilean invariance for the vertex
renormalization are drawn from this identity.Comment: REVTeX 4, 4 pages, no figures. To appear as a Brief Report in the
Physical Review
Phenomenology of Wall Bounded Newtonian Turbulence
We construct a simple analytic model for wall-bounded turbulence, containing
only four adjustable parameters. Two of these parameters characterize the
viscous dissipation of the components of the Reynolds stress-tensor and other
two parameters characterize their nonlinear relaxation. The model offers an
analytic description of the profiles of the mean velocity and the correlation
functions of velocity fluctuations in the entire boundary region, from the
viscous sub-layer, through the buffer layer and further into the log-layer. As
a first approximation, we employ the traditional return-to-isotropy hypothesis,
which yields a very simple distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy between
the velocity components in the log-layer: the streamwise component contains a
half of the total energy whereas the wall-normal and the cross-stream
components contain a quarter each. In addition, the model predicts a very
simple relation between the von-K\'arm\'an slope and the turbulent
velocity in the log-law region (in wall units): . These
predictions are in excellent agreement with DNS data and with recent laboratory
experiments.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figs, included, PRE, submitte
Universal Model of Finite-Reynolds Number Turbulent Flow in Channels and Pipes
In this Letter we suggest a simple and physically transparent analytical
model of the pressure driven turbulent wall-bounded flows at high but finite
Reynolds numbers Re. The model gives accurate qualitative description of the
profiles of the mean-velocity and Reynolds-stresses (second order correlations
of velocity fluctuations) throughout the entire channel or pipe in the wide
range of Re, using only three Re-independent parameters. The model sheds light
on the long-standing controversy between supporters of the century-old log-law
theory of von-K\`arm\`an and Prandtl and proposers of a newer theory promoting
power laws to describe the intermediate region of the mean velocity profile.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figs, re-submitted PRL according to referees comment
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