The partition of enstrophy between zonal (ordered) and wavy (turbulent) components of vorticity has been studied for the beta-plane model of two-dimensional barotropic flow. An analytic estimate of the minimum value for the zonal component has been derived. The energy, angular momentum, circulation, as well as the total enstrophy are invoked as constraints for the minimization of the zonal enstrophy. The corresponding variational principle has an unusual mathematical structure (primarily because the target functional is not a coercive form), by which the constraints work out in an interesting way. A discrete set of zonal enstrophy levels is generated by the energy constraint; each level is specified by an eigenvalue that represents the lamination period of zonal flow. However, the value itself of the zonal enstrophy level is a function of only angular momentum and circulation, being independent of the energy (and total enstrophy). Instead, the energy works in selecting the "level" (eigenvalue) of the relaxed state. The relaxation occurs by emitting small-scale wavy enstrophy, and continues as far as the nonlinear effect, scaled by the energy, can create wavy enstrophy. Comparison with numerical simulations shows that the theory gives a proper estimate of the zonal enstrophy in the relaxed state.
Using high-resolution direct numerical simulations, the height and Reynolds number dependence of higher-order statistics of the energy dissipation rate and local enstrophy are examined in incompressible, fully-developed turbulent channel flow. The statistics are studied over a range of wall distances, spanning the viscous sublayer to the channel flow centerline, for friction Reynolds numbers $Re_τ= 180$ and $Re_τ= 381$. The high resolution of the simulations allows dissipation and enstrophy moments up to fourth order to be calculated. These moments show a dependence on wall distance, and Reyno…
In this paper, we investigate the enstrophy dynamics in relation to objective Eulerian coherent structures (OECSs) and their impact on the enstrophy and scalar transport near the turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) in flows with and without stable stratification. We confirm that vortex-stretching produces enstrophy inside the boundaries of the OECSs, while viscous diffusion transfers the enstrophy across the boundaries of the structures. Although often overlooked in the literature, viscous dissipation of enstrophy within the boundaries of vortical structures is significant. Conversely, fo…
Diffusive transport of mass occurs at small scales in turbulent premixed flames. As a result, multicomponent mass diffusion, which is often neglected in direct numerical simulations (DNS) of premixed combustion, has the potential to impact both turbulence and flame characteristics at small scales. In this study, we evaluate these impacts by examining enstrophy dynamics and the internal structure of the flame for lean premixed hydrogen-air combustion, neglecting secondary Soret and Dufour effects. We performed three-dimensional DNS of these flames by implementing the Stefan-Maxwell equations in…
We analyse the nonlinear dynamics of the large scale flow in Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a two-dimensional, rectangular geometry of aspect ratio $Γ$. We impose periodic and free-slip boundary conditions in the streamwise and spanwise directions, respectively. As Rayleigh number Ra increases, a large scale zonal flow dominates the dynamics of a moderate Prandtl number fluid. At high Ra, in the turbulent regime, transitions are seen in the probability density function (PDF) of the largest scale mode. For $Γ= 2$, the PDF first transitions from a Gaussian to a trimodal behaviour, signifying the …
For rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh--Bénard convection in a slender cylindrical cell, experiments and direct numerical simulations reveal a boundary zonal flow (BZF) that replaces the classical large-scale circulation. The BZF is located near the vertical side wall and enables enhanced heat transport there. Although the azimuthal velocity of the BZF is cyclonic (in the rotating frame), the temperature is an anticyclonic traveling wave of mode one whose signature is a bimodal temperature distribution near the radial boundary. The BZF width is found to scale like $Ra^{1/4}Ek^{2/3}$ where the…
We use momentum transfer arguments to predict the friction factor $f$ in two-dimensional turbulent soap-film flows with rough boundaries (an analogue of three-dimensional pipe flow) as a function of Reynolds number Re and roughness $r$, considering separately the inverse energy cascade and the forward enstrophy cascade. At intermediate Re, we predict a Blasius-like friction factor scaling of $f\propto\textrm{Re}^{-1/2}$ in flows dominated by the enstrophy cascade, distinct from the energy cascade scaling of $\textrm{Re}^{-1/4}$. For large Re, $f \sim r$ in the enstrophy-dominated case. We use …
Out-of-time-ordered correlators for turbulent fields: a quantum-classical correspondence
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Komazawa University（驹泽大学文理学院）；RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS)（理化学研究所交叉理论数学科学中心）
Harmonic oscillations of the walls of a turbulent plane channel flow are studied by direct numerical simulations to improve our understanding of the physical mechanism for skin-friction drag reduction. The simulations are carried out at constant pressure gradient in order to define an unambiguous inner scaling: in this case, drag reduction manifests itself as an increase of mass flow rate. Energy and enstrophy balances, carried out to emphasize the role of the oscillating spanwise shear layer, show that the viscous dissipations of the mean flow and of the turbulent fluctuations increase with t…
The invariants of the velocity gradient tensor, $R$ and $Q$, and their enstrophy and strain components are studied in the logarithmic layer of an incompressible turbulent channel flow. The velocities are filtered in the three spatial directions and the results analyzed at different scales. We show that the $R$--$Q$ plane does not capture the changes undergone by the flow as the filter width increases, and that the enstrophy/enstrophy-production and strain/strain-production planes represent better choices. We also show that the conditional mean trajectories may differ significantly from the ins…
As a minimal mathematical model generating cascade analogous to that of the Navier-Stokes turbulence in the inertial range, we propose a one-dimensional partial-differential-equation model that conserves the integral of the squared vorticity analogue (enstrophy) in the inviscid case. With a large-scale forcing and small viscosity, we find numerically that the model exhibits the enstrophy cascade, the broad energy spectrum with a sizable correction to the dimensional-analysis prediction, peculiar intermittency and self-similarity in the dynamical system structure.
The dynamics, structure and stability of zonal jets in planetary flows are still poorly understood, especially in terms of coupling with the small-scale turbulent flow. Here, we use an experimental approach to address the questions of zonal jets formation and long-term evolution. A strong and uniform topographic $β$-effect is obtained inside a water-filled rotating tank thanks to the paraboloidal fluid free upper surface combined with a specifically designed bottom plate. A small-scale turbulent forcing is performed by circulating water through the base of the tank. Time-resolving PIV measurem…
The ongoing NASA's Juno mission puts new constraints on the internal dynamics of Jupiter. Data gathered by its onboard magnetometer reveal a dipole-dominated surface magnetic field accompanied by strong localised magnetic flux patches. The gravity measurements indicate that the fierce surface zonal jets extend several thousands of kilometers below the cloud level before rapidly decaying below $0.94-0.96\,R_J$, $R_J$ being the mean Jovian radius at the one bar level. Several internal models suggest an intricate internal structure with a thin intermediate region in which helium would segregate f…
The Reynolds stress, or equivalently the average of the momentum flux, is key to understanding the statistical properties of turbulent flows. Both typical and rare fluctuations of the time averaged momentum flux are needed to fully characterize the slow flow evolution. The fluctuations are described by a large deviation rate function that may be calculated either from numerical simulation, or from theory. We show that, for parameter regimes in which a quasilinear approximation is accurate, the rate function can be found by solving a matrix Riccati equation. Using this tool we compute for the f…
Zonal jets are striking and beautiful examples of the propensity for geophysical turbulent flows to spontaneously self-organize into robust, large scale coherent structures. There exist many dynamical mechanisms for the formation of zonal jets: statistical theories (kinetic approaches, second order or larger oder closures), deterministic approaches (modulational instability, $β$-plumes, radiating instability, zonostrophic turbulence, and so on). A striking remark is that all these different dynamical approaches, each of them possibly relevant in some specific regimes, lead to the same kind of …
Recently, in Zhang et al. (2020), it was found that in rapidly rotating turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC) in slender cylindrical containers (with diameter-to-height aspect ratio $Γ=1/2$) filled with a small-Prandtl-number fluid ($Pr \approx0.8$), the Large Scale Circulation (LSC) is suppressed and a Boundary Zonal Flow (BZF) develops near the sidewall, characterized by a bimodal PDF of the temperature, cyclonic fluid motion, and anticyclonic drift of the flow pattern (with respect to the rotating frame). This BZF carries a disproportionate amount ($>60\%$) of the total heat transport …
It is argued that there are three distinct zones in a wall bounded turbulent flow field dominated by three completely different mechanisms: - An outer region where the velocity profile is determined by the pressure distribution - A highly active wall layer dominated by a sequence of inrush-sweep and ejections, and - An intermediate region well described by the traditional logarithmic law proposed by independently Millikan and Prandtl. The log-law and the wall layer are sometimes referred to as the inner region. Under these conditions, a unique set of normalisation parameters cannot possibly ap…
Results from a new series of experiments on barotropic and baroclinic turbulent flows generated in a rotating tank with topographic beta-effect are presented. The velocity fields are measured by the Altimetric Imaging Velocimetry. The turbulent flows observed in the experiments develop zonal jets which are latent in a stationary forced-dissipative regime of the flow but become prominent in the decaying flow. The two-dimensional energy spectra of the flows exhibit the development of anisotropy towards zonal motions. The experiments demonstrate dual turbulent cascade with energy and enstrophy ra…
We find that in parameter regimes relevant to the recently observed alternating zonal jets in oceans, the formation of these jets can be explained as due to an arrest of the turbulent inverse-cascade of energy by {\em free} Rossby waves (as opposed to Rossby {\em basin} modes) and a subsequent redirection of that energy into zonal modes. This mechanism, originally studied in the context of alternating jets in Jovian atmospheres and two dimensional turbulence in zonally-periodic configurations survives in spite of the presence of the meridional boundaries in the oceanic context.
Planetary turbulent flows are observed to self-organize into large scale structures such as zonal jets and coherent vortices. One of the simplest models of planetary turbulence is obtained by considering a barotropic flow on a beta-plane channel with turbulence sustained by random stirring. Non-linear integrations of this model show that as the energy input rate of the forcing is increased, the homogeneity of the flow is broken with the emergence of non-zonal, coherent, westward propagating structures and at larger energy input rates by the emergence of zonal jets. We study the emergence of no…
In this paper we investigate the properties of rapidly rotating decaying turbulence using numerical simulations and phenomenological modelling. We find that as the turbulent flow evolves in time, the Rossby number decreases to $\sim 10^{-3}$, and the flow becomes quasi-two-dimensional with strong coherent columnar structures arising due to the inverse cascade of energy. We establish that a major fraction of energy is confined in Fourier modes $(\pm1,0,0)$ and $(0,\pm1,0)$ that correspond to the largest columnar structure in the flow. For wavenumbers ($k$) greater than the enstrophy dissipation…
We conduct an in-depth analysis of statistical flow properties calculated from the reference high-resolution Saturn simulation obtained by global climate modelling in Part II. In the steady state of this reference simulation, strongly energetic, zonally dominated, large-scale structures emerge, which scale with the Rhines scale. Spectral analysis reveals a strong anisotropy in the kinetic energy spectra, consistent with the zonostrophic turbulent flow regime. By computing spectral energy and enstrophy fluxes we confirm the existence of a double cascade scenario related to 2D-turbulent theory. …
We investigate the local energy flux rate $Π_\ell(\bf x)$ towards small scales in isotropic turbulent flows using direct numerical simulations and applying different low-pass filters. Two different filters are examined, a sharp Fourier filter and a Gaussian filter. The probability density function (pdf) of the local energy flux is calculated for the different filters and for different filtering scales. It is shown that the local energy flux is a largely fluctuating quantity taking both negative and positive values and this is more pronounced for the sharp filter. The variance, the skewness and…
We examine the structure of the turbulence boundary of a temporal plane jet at $Re=5000$ using statistics conditioned on the enstrophy. The data is obtained by direct numerical simulation and threshold values span 24 orders of magnitude, ranging from essentially irrotational fluid outside the jet to fully turbulent fluid in the jet core. We use two independent estimators for the local entrainment velocity $v_n$ based on the enstrophy budget. The data show clear evidence for the existence of a viscous superlayer (VSL) that envelopes the turbulence. The VSL is a nearly one-dimensional layer with…
In this paper we characterize the scaling of energy spectra, and the interscale transfer of energy and enstrophy, for strongly, moderately and weakly stably stratified two-dimensional (2D) turbulence under large-scale random forcing. In the strongly stratified case, a large-scale vertically sheared horizontal flow (VSHF) co-exists with small scale turbulence. The VSHF consists of internal gravity waves and the turbulent flow has a kinetic energy (KE) spectrum that follows an approximate $k^{-3}$ scaling with zero KE flux and a robust positive enstrophy flux. The spectrum of the turbulent poten…
Direct Numerical Simulations of turbulent convection in a large aspect-ratio box are carried out in the range of Rayleigh number $7 \times 10^4 \le Ra \le 2 \times 10^6$ at Prandtl number Pr=0.71. A strong correlation between the vertical velocity and temperature is observed in the turbulent regime at almost all the length scales. Frequency spectra of all the velocities and temperature show a $-5/3$ law for a wide band of frequencies. The variances of horizontal velocities at different points in the flow yield a single power-law. Probability density functions of velocities and temperature are …
An efficient approach for extracting 3D local averages in spherical subdomains is proposed and applied to study the intermittency of small-scale velocity and scalar fields in direct numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence. We focus on the inertial-range scaling exponents of locally averaged energy dissipation rate, enstrophy and scalar dissipation rate corresponding to the mixing of a passive scalar $θ$ in the presence of a uniform mean gradient. The Taylor-scale Reynolds number $R_λ$ goes up to $1300$, and the Schmidt number $Sc$ up to $512$ (albeit at smaller $R_λ$). The intermittency …
Flow between concentric spheres of radius ratio $η= r_\mathrm{i}/r_\mathrm{o} = 0.35$ is studied in a 3 m outer diameter experiment. We have measured the torques required to maintain constant boundary speeds as well as localized wall shear stress, velocity, and pressure. At low Ekman number $E = 2.1\times10^{-7}$ and modest Rossby number $0.07 < Ro < 3.4$, the resulting flow is highly turbulent, with a Reynolds number ($Re=Ro/E$) exceeding fifteen million. Several turbulent flow regimes are evident as $Ro$ is varied for fixed $E$. We focus our attention on one flow transition in particular, be…
Maintaining conservation laws in the fully discrete setting is critical for accurate long-time behavior of numerical simulations and requires accounting for discrete conservation properties in both space and time. This paper derives arbitrary order finite element exterior calculus spatial discretizations for the two-dimensional (2D) Navier-Stokes and drift-reduced magnetohydrodynamic equations that conserve both energy and enstrophy to machine precision when coupled with generally symplectic time-integration methods. Both continuous and discontinuous-Galerkin (DG) weak formulations can ensure …
We discuss the phenomenology of the split energy cascade in a three-dimensional thin fluid layer by mean of high resolution numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes equations. We observe the presence of both an inverse energy cascade at large scales, as predicted for two-dimensional turbu- lence, and of a direct energy cascade at small scales, as in three-dimensional turbulence. The inverse energy cascade is associated with a direct cascade of enstrophy in the intermediate range of scales. Notably, we find that the inverse cascade of energy in this system is not a pure 2D phenomenon, as the …
We present a construction of isotropic boundary adapted wavelets, which are orthogonal and yield a multi-resolution analysis. We analyze direct numerical simulation data of turbulent channel flow computed at a friction Reynolds number of 395, and investigate the role of coherent vorticity. Thresholding of the vorticity wavelet coefficients allows to split the flow into two parts, coherent and incoherent vorticity. The coherent vorticity is reconstructed from their few intense wavelet coefficients. The statistics of the coherent part, i.e., energy and enstrophy spectra, are close to the statist…
Using a Maximum Entropy Production Principle (MEPP), we derive a new type of relaxation equations for two-dimensional turbulent flows in the case where a prior vorticity distribution is prescribed instead of the Casimir constraints [Ellis, Haven, Turkington, Nonlin., 15, 239 (2002)]. The particular case of a Gaussian prior is specifically treated in connection to minimum enstrophy states and Fofonoff flows. These relaxation equations are compared with other relaxation equations proposed by Robert and Sommeria [Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 2776 (1992)] and Chavanis [Physica D, 237, 1998 (2008)]. They c…
It is extremely uncommon to be able to predict the velocity profile of a turbulent flow. In two-dimensional flows, atmosphere dynamics, and plasma physics, large scale coherent jets are created through inverse energy transfers from small scales to the largest scales of the flow. We prove that in the limits of vanishing energy injection, vanishing friction, and small scale forcing, the velocity profile of a jet obeys an equation independent of the details of the forcing. We find another general relation for the maximal curvature of a jet and we give strong arguments to support the existence of …
Results from a new series of experiments on turbulent flows in a rotating circular container are presented. Electromagnetic forcing is applied to induce flow in a layer of fluid of constant depth. Continuously forced as well as decaying flows are investigated. Optical altimetry is used to measure the gradient of the surface elevation field and to obtain the velocity and vorticity fields with high temporal and spatial resolution. Spectral analysis of the flows demonstrates the formation of dual cascade with energy and enstrophy intervals although the corresponding spectral fluxes of energy and …
We model the dynamics of Jupiter's jets by averaging the dynamics of eddies, in a barotropic beta-plane model, and explicitly predicting the balance between Reynolds' stresses and dissipation, thus predicting the average velocity profile explicitly.In order to obtain this result, we adopt a non-equilibrium statistical mechanics approach. We consider a relevant limit for Jupiter troposphere, of a time scale separation between inertial dynamics on one hand, and stochastic forcing and dissipation on the other hand. We assume that the forcing acts on scales much smaller than the jet scale, and we …
A statistically stationary and nearly homogeneous turbulent shear flow is established by an additional volume forcing in combination with stress-free boundary conditions in the shear direction. Both turbulent energy and enstrophy are stationary to a much better approximation than in previous simulations that use remeshing. The temporal fluctuations decrease with increasing Reynolds number. Energy spectra and shear-stress cospectra show that local isotropy is satisfactorily obeyed at the level of second-order moments. However, derivative moments of high-order up to n=7 yield increasing moments …
