A Statistical Theory of Turbulence Based on a Lagrangian Point of View

Author(s):  
Yukio Kaneda
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Ingram Taylor

The success of the theory of turbulence given in Part I, in predicting the connection between the rate of dissipation of energy in turbulent motion and the shape of the Ky correlation curve, suggests that it may be possible to use measurements of correlation in order to find out how the dissipation of energy is distributed over a field of turbulent flow. This is a fundamental question in any theory of turbulent motion which attempts to penetrate beyond the stage of empirical assumptions. By a fortunate coincidence the necessary observations already exist for the analysis of one case of flow from this point of view. The rate o f dissipation of energy of turbulent flow is W = 7·5 μ ¯¯(∂ u /∂ y ) 2 = 15 μ ¯ u 2 /λ 2 .


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Ingram Taylor

It was pointed out in Part I that experiments on the spread of heat from a line source ( e.g ., an electrically heated wire) in a turbulent air stream may be expected to give two elements of the statistical specification of turbulence. If the spread is measured near the source the value of the mean transverse component of velocity √¯ v 2 or v ' in the notation of Part I, can be found. If the spread is examined further down-stream it should be possible to analyse the results to find the correlation function R η , which is the principal element of the representation of turbulence in the Lagrangian system. Spread of heat nearer line source Recently the spread of heat from a heated wire in a wind tunnel has been measured at points near to the source by Schubauer. The stream was made turbulent by means of grids of round bars arranged in square pattern. Their diameters were 1 /5 of the mesh length and M varied from 5 inches to 1/2 inch. The width of the heat wake was found by measuring the angle subtended at the source by the two positions where the temperature rise was half that in the centre of the wake. This angle, denoted by α, depends partly on the amount of turbulence and to a less extent on the spread of heat due to the thermal conductivity of the air. By assuming that the effect of turbulence is to communicate to the air an eddy conductivity β, which is additive to, and obeys the same law as, true thermal conductivity, a virtual angle α turb can be deduced by the relation α 2 turb = α 2 — α 2 0 ,


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