Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Typical Model Studies01:30

Typical Model Studies

805
Fluid mechanics model studies often utilize scaled-down systems to predict fluid behavior in full-scale environments, such as river flows, dam spillways, and structures interacting with open surfaces. Maintaining Froude number similarity in river models is crucial, as it replicates surface flow features like wave patterns and velocities.
805
Laminar and Turbulent Flow01:07

Laminar and Turbulent Flow

9.6K
Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids in motion. Velocity vectors are often used to illustrate fluid motion in applications like meteorology. For example, wind—the fluid motion of air in the atmosphere—can be represented by vectors indicating the speed and direction of the wind at any given point on a map. Another method for representing fluid motion is a streamline. A streamline represents the path of a small volume of fluid as it flows. When the flow pattern changes with time, the...
9.6K
Turbulent Flow01:24

Turbulent Flow

907
Turbulent flow is characterized by unpredictable fluctuations in velocity and pressure, which result in a chaotic fluid movement distinct from the orderly patterns of laminar flow. While laminar flow is governed by smooth, parallel layers with minimal mixing, turbulent flow exhibits highly irregular, three-dimensional patterns. This behavior arises due to instabilities in the fluid's velocity profile, and amplifies as the flow velocity increases. Minor disturbances, known as turbulent...
907
Dimensionless Groups in Fluid Mechanics01:15

Dimensionless Groups in Fluid Mechanics

1.0K
Dimensionless groups in fluid mechanics provide simplified ratios that help analyze fluid behavior without relying on specific units. The Reynolds number (Re), which represents the ratio of inertial to viscous forces, distinguishes between laminar and turbulent flows, making it essential in the design of pipelines and aerodynamic surfaces. The Froude number (Fr), the ratio of inertial to gravitational forces, is particularly useful in predicting wave formation and hydraulic jumps in...
1.0K
Newtonian Fluid: Problem Solving01:18

Newtonian Fluid: Problem Solving

1.1K
Newtonian fluids exhibit a constant viscosity, meaning their shear stress and shear strain rate are directly proportional. This property ensures a predictable and stable response to applied forces, maintaining a linear relationship between force and flow. Examples include water, air, and light oils, consistently demonstrating this proportional behavior regardless of external conditions.
A velocity gradient forms within the fluid when a Newtonian fluid is placed between two parallel plates, with...
1.1K
Modeling and Similitude01:12

Modeling and Similitude

833
Scaled modeling is a fundamental technique in engineering, enabling the study of large and complex systems by creating smaller, manageable replicas that recreate critical characteristics of the original. In hydrology and civil infrastructure, for example, scaled models of dams help analyze water flow, turbulence, and pressure. This method allows for accurate predictions of real-world behavior within a controlled environment, significantly reducing the cost and time involved in full-scale...
833

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Superstatistics approach to turbulent circulation fluctuations.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Prediction performance of random reservoirs with different topology for nonlinear dynamical systems with different number of degrees of freedom.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2026
Same author

Spectral quantum algorithm for passive scalar transport in shear flows.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Phage Display Derived Antibodies Against Antimicrobial Peptide FsPDF2 Reveal Stress Response in European Beech.

Plant biotechnology journal·2025
Same author

Turbulence without Walls: Whither the Zeroth Law of Turbulence?

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Hierarchical network of thermal plumes and their dynamics in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions
11:51

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions

Published on: February 22, 2018

8.2K

Small-scale universality in fluid turbulence.

Jörg Schumacher1, Janet D Scheel2, Dmitry Krasnov1

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technische Universität Ilmenau, D-98684 Ilmenau, Germany;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 16, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Turbulent flows exhibit universal statistical properties at small scales, transitioning to intermittent behavior around Reynolds number 10^2. This universality holds across different flow types, even without an extended inertial range.

Keywords:
energy dissipation ratefluid dynamics

More Related Videos

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow
08:01

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow

Published on: May 1, 2018

9.8K
Simultaneous Measurement of Turbulence and Particle Kinematics Using Flow Imaging Techniques
10:53

Simultaneous Measurement of Turbulence and Particle Kinematics Using Flow Imaging Techniques

Published on: March 12, 2019

6.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions
11:51

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions

Published on: February 22, 2018

8.2K
The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow
08:01

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow

Published on: May 1, 2018

9.8K
Simultaneous Measurement of Turbulence and Particle Kinematics Using Flow Imaging Techniques
10:53

Simultaneous Measurement of Turbulence and Particle Kinematics Using Flow Imaging Techniques

Published on: March 12, 2019

6.7K

Area of Science:

  • Fluid dynamics
  • Turbulence research
  • Statistical physics

Background:

  • Turbulent flows exhibit complex dynamics across various scales.
  • Understanding universal statistical properties is a key challenge in turbulence research.
  • Large scales often dictate flow behavior, while small scales can show universal characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the universality of small-scale turbulent flow statistics.
  • To identify the transition point to intermittent behavior in turbulent flows.
  • To examine statistical properties across different flow complexities and Reynolds numbers.

Main Methods:

  • Direct numerical simulations of three distinct turbulent flows: homogeneous isotropic turbulence, turbulent shear flow, and thermal convection.
  • Analysis of velocity derivative fluctuations and energy dissipation rates.
  • Computation across a range of Reynolds numbers (Re ~ 10^2).

Main Results:

  • A transition from Gaussian to intermittent behavior in velocity derivative fluctuations was observed around Re ~ 10^2.
  • The statistics of energy dissipation rates followed universal Reynolds number power laws beyond the transition point.
  • Universality of small-scale turbulence was established even at lower Reynolds numbers.

Conclusions:

  • Small-scale turbulence exhibits universal statistical properties across different flow configurations.
  • The transition to intermittency is a key indicator of fully developed turbulence at small scales.
  • Universality can be observed without the necessity of an extended inertial range.