E. Martini | Searcharxiv

arXiv2022

Self-similar mechanisms in wall turbulence studied using of resolvent analysis

Self-similarity of wall-attached coherent structures in a turbulent channel at $Re_τ=543$ is explored by means of resolvent analysis. In this modelling framework, coherent structures are understood to arise as a response of the linearised mean-flow operator to generalised, frequency-dependent Reynolds stresses, considered to act as an endogenous forcing. We assess the self-similarity of both the wall-attached flow structures and the associated forcing. The former are educed from direct numerical simulation data by finding the flow field correlated with the wall shear, whereas the latter is identified using a frequency space version of Extended Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (Borée, J. 2003 Extended proper orthogonal decomposition: a tool to analyse correlated events in turbulent flows. Experiments in fluids 35 (2), 188-192). The forcing structures identified are compared to those obtained using the resolvent-based estimation introduced by Towne \emph{et al}. (Towne, A., Lozano-Durán, A. & Yang, X. 2020 Resolvent-based estimation of space-time flow statistics. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 883, A17). The analysis reveals self-similarity of both wall-attached structures$-$in quantitative agreement with Townsend's hypothesis of self-similar attached eddies$-$and the underlying forcing, at least in certain components.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2021

Ambiguity in mean-flow-based linear analysis

Linearisation of the Navier-Stokes equations about the mean of a turbulent flow forms the foundation of popular models for energy amplification and coherent structures, including resolvent analysis. While the Navier-Stokes equations can be equivalently written using many different sets of dependent variables, we show that the properties of the linear operator obtained via linearisation about the mean depend on the variables in which the equations are written prior to linearisation. For example, we show that using primitive and conservative variables leads to differences in the singular values and modes of the resolvent operator for turbulent jets, and that the differences become more severe as variable-density effects increase. This lack of uniqueness of mean-flow-based linear analysis provides new opportunities for optimizing models by specific choice of variables while also highlighting the importance of carefully accounting for the nonlinear terms that act as a forcing on the resolvent operator.

physics.flu-dyn↗