scholarly journals A theory for the emergence of coherent structures in beta-plane turbulence

2014 ◽  
Vol 740 ◽  
pp. 312-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos A. Bakas ◽  
Petros J. Ioannou
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Energy Input ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Order Approximation ◽  
Plane Channel ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Homogeneous State ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Beta Plane

AbstractPlanetary turbulent flows are observed to self-organize into large-scale structures such as zonal jets and coherent vortices. One of the simplest models of planetary turbulence is obtained by considering a barotropic flow on a beta-plane channel with turbulence sustained by random stirring. Nonlinear integrations of this model show that as the energy input rate of the forcing is increased, the homogeneity of the flow is broken with the emergence of non-zonal, coherent, westward propagating structures and at larger energy input rates by the emergence of zonal jets. We study the emergence of non-zonal coherent structures using a non-equilibrium statistical theory, stochastic structural stability theory (S3T, previously referred to as SSST). S3T directly models a second-order approximation to the statistical mean turbulent state and allows the identification of statistical turbulent equilibria and study of their stability. Using S3T, the bifurcation properties of the homogeneous state in barotropic beta-plane turbulence are determined. Analytic expressions for the zonal and non-zonal large-scale coherent flows that emerge as a result of structural instability are obtained. Through numerical integrations of the S3T dynamical system, it is found that the unstable structures equilibrate at finite amplitude. Numerical simulations of the nonlinear equations confirm the characteristics (scale, amplitude and phase speed) of the structures predicted by S3T.

scholarly journals S3T Stability of the Homogeneous State of Barotropic Beta-Plane Turbulence

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 1689-1712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos A. Bakas ◽  
Navid C. Constantinou ◽  
Petros J. Ioannou
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Modulational Instability ◽  
Homogeneous State ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Large Scale Structures ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
Beta Plane ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Large Scale Flow

Abstract Zonal jets and nonzonal large-scale flows are often present in forced–dissipative barotropic turbulence on a beta plane. The dynamics underlying the formation of both zonal and nonzonal coherent structures is investigated in this work within the statistical framework of stochastic structural stability theory (S3T). Previous S3T studies have shown that the homogeneous turbulent state undergoes a bifurcation at a critical parameter and becomes inhomogeneous with the emergence of zonal and/or large-scale nonzonal flows and that these statistical predictions of S3T are reflected in direct numerical simulations. In this paper, the dynamics underlying the S3T statistical instability of the homogeneous state as a function of parameters is studied. It is shown that, for weak planetary vorticity gradient β, both zonal jets and nonzonal large-scale structures form from upgradient momentum fluxes due to shearing of the eddies by the emerging infinitesimal flow. For large β, the dynamics of the S3T instability differs for zonal and nonzonal flows but in both the destabilizing vorticity fluxes decrease with increasing β. Shearing of the eddies by the mean flow continues to be the mechanism for the emergence of zonal jets while nonzonal large-scale flows emerge from resonant and near-resonant triad interactions between the large-scale flow and the stochastically forced eddies. The relation between the formation of large-scale structure through modulational instability and the S3T instability of the homogeneous state is also investigated and it is shown that the modulational instability results are subsumed by the S3T results.

Waves, jets and vortices: Regime transitions in shallow water turbulence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikos Bakas
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Turbulent Regime ◽  
Wave Regime ◽  
Frequency Spectra ◽  
Spectra Analysis ◽  
Zonal Jets

<p>Forced-dissipative beta-plane turbulence in a single-layer shallow-water fluid has been widely considered as a simplified model of planetary turbulence as it exhibits turbulence self-organization into large-scale structures such as robust zonal jets and strong vortices. In this study we perform a series of numerical simulations to analyze the characteristics of the emerging structures as a function of the planetary vorticity gradient and the deformation radius. We report four regimes that appear as the energy input rate ε of the random stirring that supports turbulence in the flow increases. A homogeneous turbulent regime for low values of ε, a regime in which large scale Rossby waves form abruptly when ε passes a critical value, a regime in which robust zonal jets coexist with weaker Rossby waves when ε passes a second critical value and a regime of strong materially coherent propagating vortices for large values of ε. The wave regime which is not predicted by standard cascade theories of turbulence anisotropization and the vortex regime are studied thoroughly. Wavenumber-frequency spectra analysis shows that the Rossby waves in the second regime remain phase coherent over long times. The coherent vortices are identified using the Lagrangian Averaged Deviation (LAVD) method. The statistics of the vortices (lifetime, radius, strength and speed) are reported as a function of the large scale parameters. We find that the strong vortices propagate zonally with a phase speed that is equal or larger than the long Rossby wave speed and advect the background turbulence leading to a non-dispersive line in the wavenumber-frequency spectra.</p>

Characterization of Geometrical and Temporal Properties of Large-scale Motions in Turbulent Flows

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Tsai ◽  
Kuang-Ting Wu
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Streamwise Velocity ◽  
Turbulent Structures ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Turbulent Statistics ◽  
Spatial Locations

<p>It is demonstrated that turbulent boundary layers are populated by a hierarchy of recurrent structures, normally referred to as the coherent structures. Thus, it is desirable to gain a better understanding of the spatial-temporal characteristics of coherent structures and their impact on fluid particles. Furthermore, the ejection and sweep events play an important role in turbulent statistics. Therefore, this study focuses on the characterizations of flow particles under the influence of the above-mentioned two structures.</p><div><span>With regard to the geometry of turbulent structures, </span><span>Meinhart & Adrian (1995) </span>first highlighted the existence of large and irregularly shaped regions of uniform streamwise momentum zone (hereafter referred to as a uniform momentum zone, or UMZs), regions of relatively similar streamwise velocity with coherence in the streamwise and wall-normal directions.  <span>Subsequently, </span><span>de Silva et al. (2017) </span><span>provided a detection criterion that had previously been utilized to locate the uniform momentum zones (UMZ) and demonstrated the application of this criterion to estimate the spatial locations of the edges that demarcates UMZs.</span></div><div> </div><div>In this study, detection of the existence of UMZs is a pre-process of identifying the coherent structures. After the edges of UMZs are determined, the identification procedure of ejection and sweep events from turbulent flow DNS data should be defined. As such, an integrated criterion of distinguishing ejection and sweep events is proposed. Based on the integrated criterion, the statistical characterizations of coherent structures from available turbulent flow data such as event durations, event maximum heights, and wall-normal and streamwise lengths can be presented.</div>

scholarly journals Dynamics of Convectively Driven Banded Jets in the Laboratory

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (11) ◽  
pp. 4031-4052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter L. Read ◽  
Yasuhiro H. Yamazaki ◽  
Stephen R. Lewis ◽  
Paul D. Williams ◽  
Robin Wordsworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Inertial Range ◽  
Instability Criterion ◽  
Rossby Wave Breaking ◽  
Outer Planets ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Geostrophic Turbulence

Abstract The banded organization of clouds and zonal winds in the atmospheres of the outer planets has long fascinated observers. Several recent studies in the theory and idealized modeling of geostrophic turbulence have suggested possible explanations for the emergence of such organized patterns, typically involving highly anisotropic exchanges of kinetic energy and vorticity within the dissipationless inertial ranges of turbulent flows dominated (at least at large scales) by ensembles of propagating Rossby waves. The results from an attempt to reproduce such conditions in the laboratory are presented here. Achievement of a distinct inertial range turns out to require an experiment on the largest feasible scale. Deep, rotating convection on small horizontal scales was induced by gently and continuously spraying dense, salty water onto the free surface of the 13-m-diameter cylindrical tank on the Coriolis platform in Grenoble, France. A “planetary vorticity gradient” or “β effect” was obtained by use of a conically sloping bottom and the whole tank rotated at angular speeds up to 0.15 rad s−1. Over a period of several hours, a highly barotropic, zonally banded large-scale flow pattern was seen to emerge with up to 5–6 narrow, alternating, zonally aligned jets across the tank, indicating the development of an anisotropic field of geostrophic turbulence. Using particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques, zonal jets are shown to have arisen from nonlinear interactions between barotropic eddies on a scale comparable to either a Rhines or “frictional” wavelength, which scales roughly as (β/Urms)−1/2. This resulted in an anisotropic kinetic energy spectrum with a significantly steeper slope with wavenumber k for the zonal flow than for the nonzonal eddies, which largely follows the classical Kolmogorov k−5/3 inertial range. Potential vorticity fields show evidence of Rossby wave breaking and the presence of a “hyperstaircase” with radius, indicating instantaneous flows that are supercritical with respect to the Rayleigh–Kuo instability criterion and in a state of “barotropic adjustment.” The implications of these results are discussed in light of zonal jets observed in planetary atmospheres and, most recently, in the terrestrial oceans.

scholarly journals Is spontaneous generation of coherent baroclinic flows possible?

2019 ◽  
Vol 862 ◽  
pp. 889-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos A. Bakas ◽  
Petros J. Ioannou
Keyword(s):  
Energy Input ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Spontaneous Generation ◽  
Large Scale Structures ◽  
Zonal Jets ◽  
Statistical State ◽  
Coherent Vortices ◽  
Geophysical Turbulence ◽  
New Type

Geophysical turbulence is observed to self-organize into large-scale flows such as zonal jets and coherent vortices. Previous studies of barotropic $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$-plane turbulence have shown that coherent flows emerge from a background of homogeneous turbulence as a bifurcation when the turbulence intensity increases. The emergence of large-scale flows has been attributed to a new type of collective, symmetry-breaking instability of the statistical state dynamics of the turbulent flow. In this work, we extend the analysis to stratified flows and investigate turbulent self-organization in a two-layer fluid without any imposed mean north–south thermal gradient and with turbulence supported by an external random stirring. We use a second-order closure of the statistical state dynamics, that is termed S3T, with an appropriate averaging ansatz that allows the identification of statistical turbulent equilibria and their structural stability. The bifurcation of the statistically homogeneous equilibrium state to inhomogeneous equilibrium states comprising zonal jets and/or large-scale waves when the energy input rate of the excitation passes a critical threshold is analytically studied. Our theory predicts that there is a large bias towards the emergence of barotropic flows. If the scale of excitation is of the order of (or larger than) the deformation radius, the large-scale structures are barotropic. Mixed barotropic–baroclinic states with jets and/or waves arise when the excitation is at scales shorter than the deformation radius with the baroclinic component of the flow being subdominant for low energy input rates and insignificant for higher energy input rates. The predictions of the S3T theory are compared with nonlinear simulations. The theory is found to accurately predict both the critical transition parameters and the scales of the emergent structures but underestimates their amplitude.

Exact Coherent States and the Nonlinear Dynamics of Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Graham ◽  
Daniel Floryan
Keyword(s):  
State Space ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Coherent States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Saddle Points ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Hairpin Vortices ◽  
Theoretical Approaches

Wall-bounded turbulence exhibits patterns that persist in time and space: coherent structures. These are important for transport processes and form a conceptual framework for important theoretical approaches. Key observed structures include quasi-streamwise and hairpin vortices, as well as the localized spots and puffs of turbulence observed during transition. This review describes recent research on so-called exact coherent states (ECS) in wall-bounded parallel flows at Reynolds numbers Re [Formula: see text] 104; these are nonturbulent, nonlinear solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations that in many cases resemble coherent structures in turbulence. That is, idealized versions of many of these structures exist as distinct, self-sustaining entities. ECS are saddle points in state space and form, at least in part, the state space skeleton of the turbulent dynamics. While most work on ECS focuses on Newtonian flow, some advances have been made on the role of ECS in turbulent drag reduction in polymer solutions. Emerging directions include applications to control and connections to large-scale structures and the attached eddy model.

Asymptotic Effect of Initial and Upstream Conditions on Turbulence

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
William K. George
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The Self ◽  
Asymptotic Independence ◽  
Small Scale

More than two decades ago the first strong experimental results appeared suggesting that turbulent flows might not be asymptotically independent of their initial (or upstream) conditions (Wygnanski et al., 1986, “On the Large-Scale Structures in Two-Dimensional Smalldeficit, Turbulent Wakes,” J. Fluid Mech., 168, pp. 31–71). And shortly thereafter the first theoretical explanations were offered as to why we came to believe something about turbulence that might not be true (George, 1989, “The Self-Preservation of Turbulent Flows and its Relation to Initial Conditions and Coherent Structures,” Advances in Turbulence, W. George and R. Arndt, eds., Hemisphere, New York, pp. 1–41). These were contrary to popular belief. It was recognized immediately that if turbulence was indeed asymptotically independent of its initial conditions, it meant that there could be no universal single point model for turbulence (George, 1989, “The Self-Preservation of Turbulent Flows and its Relation to Initial Conditions and Coherent Structures,” Advances in Turbulence, W. George and R. Arndt, eds., Hemisphere, New York, pp. 1–41; Taulbee, 1989, “Reynolds Stress Models Applied to Turbulent Jets,” Advances in Turbulence, W. George and R. Arndt, eds., Hemisphere, New York, pp. 29–73) certainly consistent with experience, but even so not easy to accept for the turbulence community. Even now the ideas of asymptotic independence still dominate most texts and teaching of turbulence. This paper reviews the substantial additional evidence - experimental, numerical and theoretical - for the asymptotic effect of initial and upstream conditions that has accumulated over the past 25 years. Also reviewed is evidence that the Kolmogorov theory for small scale turbulence is not as general as previously believed. Emphasis has been placed on the canonical turbulent flows (especially wakes, jets, and homogeneous decaying turbulence), which have been the traditional building blocks for our understanding. Some of the important outstanding issues are discussed; and implications for the future of turbulence modeling and research, especially LES and turbulence control, are also considered.

Coherent Structures in Turbulent Shear Flows: The Confluence of Experimental and Numerical Approaches (Keynote Paper)

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Bonnet ◽  
Joel Delville ◽  
M. N. Glauser
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Turbulent Shear ◽  
Number Range ◽  
Universal Behavior ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Background Turbulence ◽  
Low Dimensional

Physics based low dimensional approaches are playing an increasingly important role in our understanding of turbulent flows. They provide an avenue for us to understand the connection between coherent structures and the overall dynamics of the flow field. As such these approaches are fundamental to the implementation of physics based active control methodologies. In this paper we review applications of various low dimensional approaches (including Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), Linear Stochastic Estimation (LSE), Conditional Averages and Wavelets) to turbulent shear layers and connect the results to simulation tools. The applications of all these methods to the 2D shear layer suggest a kind of universal behavior of both the large scale structure extracted and the background turbulence, irrespective of the technique (filtering method) used. A review of the application of POD and LSE to the axisymmetric jet at Reynolds numbers between 100,000 and 800,000 and Mach numbers ranging from very low to 0.6 suggest a universal behavior where the dynamics can be described with relatively low dimensional information (1 POD mode and 5 or 6 Fourier azimuthal modes) over the Reynolds/Mach number range studied. These results provide physical justification for simulation tools such as VLES, LES and SDM since such computational methods involve different levels of low-dimensional modeling.

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