This thesis focuses on two important issues in turbulence theory of wall-bounded
flows. One is the recent debate on the form of the mean velocity profile (is it a
log-law or a power-law with very weak power exponent?) and on its scalings with
Reynolds number. In particular, this study relates the mean flow profile of the
turbulent channel flow with the underlying topological structure of the fluctuating
velocity field through the concept of critical points, a dynamical systems concept that
is a natural way to quantify the multiscale structure of turbulence. This connection
gives a new phenomenological picture of wall-bounded turbulence in terms of the
topology of the flow. This theory validated against existing data, indicates that
the issue on the form of the mean velocity profile at the asymptotic limit of infinite
Reynolds number could be resolved by understanding the scaling of turbulent kinetic
energy with Reynolds number.
The other major issue addressed here is on the fundamental mechanism(s) of
viscoelastic turbulence that lead to the polymer-induced turbulent drag reduction
phenomenon and its dynamical aspects. A great challenge in this problem is the computation
of viscoelastic turbulent flows, since the understanding of polymer physics is
restricted to mechanical models. An effective numerical method to solve the governing
equation for polymers modelled as nonlinear springs, without using any artificial
assumptions as usual, was implemented here for the first time on a three-dimensional
channel flow geometry. The superiority of this algorithm is depicted on the results,
which are much closer to experimental observations. This allowed a more detailed
study of the polymer-turbulence dynamical interactions, which yields a clearer picture
on a mechanism that is governed by the polymer-turbulence energy transfers.