Robust identification of dynamically distinct regions in stratified turbulence

2DV Nonlinear k-ε Turbulence Modeling of Stratified Flows

The commonly used linear k-ε turbulence model is shown to be incapable of accurate prediction of turbulent flows, where non-isotropy is dominant. Two examples of non-isotropic flows, which have a wide range of applications in marine waters, are saline water flow and the stratified flows due to temperature gradients. These relate to stratification and consequently, variation of density through...

Lagrangian coherent structures separate dynamically distinct regions in fluid flows.

Using filter-space techniques, we study the scale-to-scale transport of energy in a quasi-two-dimensional, weakly turbulent fluid flow averaged along the trajectories of fluid elements. We find that although the spatial mean of this Lagrangian-averaged flux is nearly unchanged from its Eulerian counterpart, the spatial structure of the scale-to-scale energy flux changes significantly. In partic...

LES of stratified turbulence

Passive Scalars in Stratified Turbulence

The statistics of a passive scalar in randomly forced and strongly stratified turbulence is investigated by numerical simulations including a horizontal passive scalar mean gradient. We observe that horizontal isotropy of the passive scalar spectrum is satisfied in the inertial range. The spectrum has the form Eθ(kh) = Cθεθε −1/3 K k −5/3 h , where εθ, εK are the dissipation of scalar variance ...

Second-order closure in stratified turbulence: simulations and modeling of bulk and entrainment regions.

The parametrization of small-scale turbulent fluctuations in convective systems and in the presence of strong stratification is a key issue for many applied problems in oceanography, atmospheric science, and planetology. In the presence of stratification, one needs to cope with bulk turbulent fluctuations and with inversion regions, where temperature, density, or both develop highly nonlinear m...