Connecting the time evolution of the turbulence interface to coherent structures
File(s)2001.02427v2.pdf (5.12 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The surface area of turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces (TNTIs) is continuously produced and destroyed via stretching and curvature/propagation effects. Here, the mechanisms responsible for TNTI area growth and destruction are investigated in a turbulent flow with and without stable stratification through the time evolution equation of the TNTI area. We show that both terms have broad distributions and may locally contribute to either production or destruction. On average, however, the area growth is driven by stretching, which is approximately balanced by destruction by the curvature/propagation term. To investigate the contribution of different length scales to these processes, we apply spatial filtering to the data. In doing so, we find that the averages of the stretching and the curvature/propagation terms balance out across spatial scales of TNTI wrinkles and this scale-by-scale balance is consistent with an observed scale invariance of the nearby coherent vortices. Through a conditional analysis, we demonstrate that the TNTI area production (destruction) is localized at the front (lee) edge of the vortical structures in the interface proximity. Finally, we show that while basic mechanisms remain the same, increasing stratification reduces the rates at which TNTI surface area is produced as well as destroyed. We provide evidence that this reduction is largely connected to a change in the multiscale geometry of the interface, which tends to flatten in the wall-normal direction at all active length scales of the TNTI.
Date Issued
2020-09-10
Date Acceptance
2020-05-16
Citation
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2020, 898 (A3), pp.1-24
ISSN
0022-1120
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Start Page
1
End Page
24
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Volume
898
Issue
A3
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press. This paper has been accepted for publication and will appear in a revised form, subsequent to peer-review and/or editorial input by Cambridge University Press.
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000542617300001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
PII: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-fluid-mechanics/article/connecting-the-time-evolution-of-the-turbulence-interface-to-coherent-structures/2E5BBE2111ED4F1DF796D329686919BF
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Physical Sciences
Mechanics
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Physics
gravity currents
turbulent mixing
stratified turbulence
FLAME STRETCH
ENTRAINMENT
VORTICES
SURFACES
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
PII S0022112020004140
Date Publish Online
2020-06-24