Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow
Published on: May 1, 2018
Scaling laws of peripheral mixing of passive scalar in a wall-shear layer
1Defence Science and Technology Organisation, 506 Lorimer Street, Fishermans Bend, Victoria 3207, Australia. alex.skvortsov@dsto.defence.gov.au
Abstract:
The scaling laws governing the concentration moments of a passive scalar released from a ground-level localized source in a neutrally stratified wall-shear layer are investigated using a theoretical framework recently formulated by Lebedev and Turitsyn [Phys. Rev. E 69, 036301 (2004)]. For the current application, this theoretical framework is generalized from the smooth random velocity field applicable in the viscous sublayer to the nonsmooth random velocity field that applies to the bulk of the wall-shear layer. Theoretical relationships for the passive scalar concentration moments are compared to a water-channel simulation of turbulent diffusion from a ground-level source in a wall-shear layer. The diffusion measurements in the wall-shear layer are shown to be consistent with the theoretical description and also imply the robustness of the identified scaling laws for the scalar concentration moments.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Boundary Layer Characteristics
Newtonian Fluid: Problem Solving
A velocity gradient forms within the fluid when a Newtonian fluid is placed between two parallel plates, with...
Couette Flow
Navier–Stokes Equations
Uniform Depth Channel Flow

