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Published on: February 3, 2014
Computational study of turbulent laminar patterns in couette flow
Dwight Barkley1, Laurette S Tuckerman
1Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom. barkley@maths.warwick.ac.uk
Physical Review Letters
|February 9, 2005
Summary
Simulations of turbulent-laminar patterns in plane Couette flow reveal three distinct states: periodic, localized, and intermittent. These findings closely match experimental observations near the transition to turbulence.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Turbulence research
- Computational physics
Background:
- Turbulent-laminar patterns are crucial for understanding the transition to turbulence.
- Plane Couette flow serves as a fundamental model for studying fluid instabilities.
- Previous experimental studies have observed various patterned states near transition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To simulate and characterize turbulent-laminar patterns in plane Couette flow.
- To investigate the influence of computational domain geometry on pattern formation.
- To compare simulation results with experimental observations.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing an extension of the minimal-flow-unit methodology for simulations.
- Employing computational domains with minimal size in two directions and large in the third.
- Tilting the long computational direction relative to the streamwise direction.
Main Results:
- Identification and study of three types of patterned states: periodic, localized, and intermittent.
- Demonstration that these simulated patterns closely resemble those observed in large-aspect-ratio experiments.
- Analysis of the behavior of these patterns under varying computational domain orientations.
Conclusions:
- The minimal-flow-unit approach can effectively reproduce complex turbulent-laminar patterns.
- The simulated periodic, localized, and intermittent states provide insights into turbulence transition mechanisms.
- This study bridges computational findings with experimental evidence in fluid dynamics.
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