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Updated: May 31, 2026

Methods for Measuring the Orientation and Rotation Rate of 3D-printed Particles in Turbulence
Published on: June 24, 2016
Lagrangian velocity autocorrelations in statistically steady rotating turbulence
Lorenzo Del Castello1, Herman J H Clercx
1Department of Physics and J. M. Burgers Centre for Fluid Dynamics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Lagrangian statistics of passive tracers in rotating turbulence is investigated by particle tracking velocimetry. A confined and steadily forced turbulent flow is subjected to five different rotation rates. The PDFs of the velocity components clearly reveal the anisotropy induced by background rotation. Although the statistical properties of the horizontal turbulent flow field are approximately isotropic, in agreement with previously reported results by van Bokhoven and coworkers [Phys. Fluids 21, 096601 (2009)], the velocity component parallel to the (vertical) rotation axis gets strongly reduced (compared to the horizontal ones) while the rotation is increased. The auto-correlation coefficients of all three components are progressively enhanced for increasing rotation rates, although the vertical one shows a tendency to decrease for slow rotation rates. The decorrelation is approximately exponential. Lagrangian data compare favorably with previously reported Eulerian data for horizontal velocity components but show a different behavior for the vertical velocity components at higher rotation rates.
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