Potential enstrophy in stratified turbulence

2013 ◽  
Vol 722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Waite
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Quadratic Approximation ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Quadratic Part ◽  
Flow Variables ◽  
Potential Enstrophy

AbstractDirect numerical simulations are used to investigate potential enstrophy in stratified turbulence with small Froude numbers, large Reynolds numbers, and buoyancy Reynolds numbers ($R{e}_{b} $) both smaller and larger than unity. We investigate the conditions under which the potential enstrophy, which is a quartic quantity in the flow variables, can be approximated by its quadratic terms, as is often done in geophysical fluid dynamics. We show that at large scales, the quadratic fraction of the potential enstrophy is determined by $R{e}_{b} $. The quadratic part dominates for small $R{e}_{b} $, i.e. in the viscously coupled regime of stratified turbulence, but not when $R{e}_{b} \gtrsim 1$. The breakdown of the quadratic approximation is consistent with the development of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities, which are frequently observed to grow on the layerwise structure of stratified turbulence when $R{e}_{b} $ is not too small.

scholarly journals Waves and vortices in the inverse cascade regime of stratified turbulence with or without rotation

2016 ◽  
Vol 806 ◽  
pp. 165-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corentin Herbert ◽  
Raffaele Marino ◽  
Duane Rosenberg ◽  
Annick Pouquet
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Energy Spectra ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Inverse Cascade ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
The Waves

We study the partition of energy between waves and vortices in stratified turbulence, with or without rotation, for a variety of parameters, focusing on the behaviour of the waves and vortices in the inverse cascade of energy towards the large scales. To this end, we use direct numerical simulations in a cubic box at a Reynolds number $Re\approx 1000$, with the ratio between the Brunt–Väisälä frequency $N$ and the inertial frequency $f$ varying from $1/4$ to 20, together with a purely stratified run. The Froude number, measuring the strength of the stratification, varies within the range $0.02\leqslant Fr\leqslant 0.32$. We find that the inverse cascade is dominated by the slow quasi-geostrophic modes. Their energy spectra and fluxes exhibit characteristics of an inverse cascade, even though their energy is not conserved. Surprisingly, the slow vortices still dominate when the ratio $N/f$ increases, also in the stratified case, although less and less so. However, when $N/f$ increases, the inverse cascade of the slow modes becomes weaker and weaker, and it vanishes in the purely stratified case. We discuss how the disappearance of the inverse cascade of energy with increasing $N/f$ can be interpreted in terms of the waves and vortices, and identify the main effects that can explain this transition based on both inviscid invariants arguments and viscous effects due to vertical shear.

scholarly journals Partitioning Waves and Eddies in Stably Stratified Turbulence

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Lam ◽  
Alexandre Delache ◽  
Fabien S Godeferd
Keyword(s):  
Dispersion Relation ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Laminar Flow ◽  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Energy Concentration ◽  
Kinetic Energy Density ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
The Waves

We consider the separation of motion related to internal gravity waves and eddy dynamics in stably stratified flows obtained by direct numerical simulations. The waves’ dispersion relation links their angle of propagation to the vertical θ , to their frequency ω , so that two methods are used for characterizing wave-related motion: (a) the concentration of kinetic energy density in the ( θ , ω ) map along the dispersion relation curve; and (b) a direct computation of two-point two-time velocity correlations via a four-dimensional Fourier transform, permitting to extract wave-related space-time coherence. The second method is more computationally demanding than the first. In canonical flows with linear kinematics produced by space-localized harmonic forcing, we observe the pattern of the waves in physical space and the corresponding concentration curve of energy in the ( θ , ω ) plane. We show from a simple laminar flow that the curve characterizing the presence of waves is distorted differently in the presence of a background convective mean velocity, either uniform or varying in space, and also when the forcing source is moving. By generalizing the observation from laminar flow to turbulent flow, this permits categorizing the energy concentration pattern of the waves in complex flows, thus enabling the identification of wave-related motion in a general turbulent flow with stable stratification. The advanced method (b) is finally used to compute the wave-eddy partition in the velocity–buoyancy fields of direct numerical simulations of stably stratified turbulence. In particular, we use this splitting in statistics as varied as horizontal and vertical kinetic energy, as well as two-point velocity and buoyancy spectra.

Stability and dynamics of the laminar wake past a slender blunt-based axisymmetric body

2011 ◽  
Vol 676 ◽  
pp. 110-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. BOHORQUEZ ◽  
E. SANMIGUEL-ROJAS ◽  
A. SEVILLA ◽  
J. I. JIMÉNEZ-GONZÁLEZ ◽  
C. MARTÍNEZ-BAZÁN
Keyword(s):  
Stability Analysis ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Linear Stability ◽  
Linear Stability Analysis ◽  
Velocity Ratio ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
The Body ◽  
Stream Velocity

We investigate the stability properties and flow regimes of laminar wakes behind slender cylindrical bodies, of diameter D and length L, with a blunt trailing edge at zero angle of attack, combining experiments, direct numerical simulations and local/global linear stability analyses. It has been found that the flow field is steady and axisymmetric for Reynolds numbers below a critical value, Recs (L/D), which depends on the length-to-diameter ratio of the body, L/D. However, in the range of Reynolds numbers Recs(L/D) < Re < Reco(L/D), although the flow is still steady, it is no longer axisymmetric but exhibits planar symmetry. Finally, for Re > Reco, the flow becomes unsteady due to a second oscillatory bifurcation which preserves the reflectional symmetry. In addition, as the Reynolds number increases, we report a new flow regime, characterized by the presence of a secondary, low frequency oscillation while keeping the reflectional symmetry. The results reported indicate that a global linear stability analysis is adequate to predict the first bifurcation, thereby providing values of Recs nearly identical to those given by the corresponding numerical simulations. On the other hand, experiments and direct numerical simulations give similar values of Reco for the second, oscillatory bifurcation, which are however overestimated by the linear stability analysis due to the use of an axisymmetric base flow. It is also shown that both bifurcations can be stabilized by injecting a certain amount of fluid through the base of the body, quantified here as the bleed-to-free-stream velocity ratio, Cb = Wb/W∞.

Sensitivity of stratified turbulence to the buoyancy Reynolds number

2013 ◽  
Vol 725 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Bartello ◽  
S. M. Tobias
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Energy Spectrum ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Froude Number ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Stratified Flow ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
Integral Scale

AbstractIn this article we present direct numerical simulations of stratified flow at resolutions of up to $204{8}^{2} \times 513$, to explore scalings for the dynamics of stably stratified turbulence. Recent work suggests that for strong enough stratification, the vertical integral scale of the turbulence adjusts to yield a vertical Froude number, ${F}_{v} $, of order unity at high enough Reynolds number, whilst the horizontal Froude number, ${F}_{h} $, decreases as stratification is increased. Our numerical simulations are consistent with predictions by Lindborg (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 550, 2006, pp, 207–242), and with numerical simulations at lower resolution, in that the horizontal kinetic energy spectrum follows a Kolmogorov spectrum (after replacing the wavenumber with the horizontal wavenumber) and that the horizontal potential energy spectrum similarly follows the Corrsin–Obukhov spectrum for a passive scalar. Most importantly, we build upon these previous results by thoroughly exploring the dependence of the horizontal spectrum of horizontal kinetic energy on both the stratification and the relative size of the vertical dissipation terms, as quantified by the buoyancy Reynolds number. Our most important result is that variations in the power-law exponent scale entirely with the buoyancy Reynolds number and not with the stratification itself, lending considerable support to the Lindborg (2006) hypothesis that horizontal spectra are independent of stratification at large Reynolds numbers. We further demonstrate that even at the large numerical resolution of this study, the spectrum and hence the dynamics are affected by the buoyancy Reynolds number unless it is larger than $O(10)$, indicating that extreme care must be taken when assessing claims made from previous numerical simulations of stratified flow at low or moderate resolution and extrapolating the results to geophysical or astrophysical Reynolds numbers.

The scaling of the turbulent/non-turbulent interface at high Reynolds numbers

2018 ◽  
Vol 843 ◽  
pp. 156-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago S. Silva ◽  
Marco Zecchetto ◽  
Carlos B. da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
High Reynolds Numbers ◽  
High Reynolds

The scaling of the turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) at high Reynolds numbers is investigated by using direct numerical simulations (DNS) of temporal turbulent planar jets (PJET) and shear free turbulence (SFT), with Reynolds numbers in the range $142\leqslant Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}\leqslant 400$. For $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}\gtrsim 200$ the thickness of the TNTI ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}}$), like that of its two sublayers – the viscous superlayer (VSL, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}}$) and the turbulent sublayer (TSL, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}}$) – all scale with the Kolmogorov micro-scale $\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$, while the particular scaling constant depends on the sublayer. Specifically, for $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}\gtrsim 200$ while the VSL is always of the order of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$, with $4\leqslant \langle \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}}\rangle /\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}\leqslant 5$, the TSL and the TNTI are typically equal to $10\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$, with $10.4\leqslant \langle \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}}\rangle /\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}\leqslant 12.5$, and $15.4\leqslant \langle \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}}\rangle /\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}\leqslant 16.8$, respectively.

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