A linear process in wall-bounded turbulent shear flows

A linear process in wall-bounded turbulent shear flows has been investigated through numerical experiments. It is shown that the linear coupling term, which enhances non-normality of the linearized Navier–Stokes system, plays an important role in fully turbulent—and hence, nonlinear —flows. Near-wall turbulence is shown to decay without the linear coupling term. It is also shown that near-wall turbulence structures are not formed in their proper scales without the nonlinear terms in the Navier–Stokes equations, thus indicating that the formation of the commonly observed near-wall turbulence structures are essentially nonlinear, but the maintenance relies on the linear process. Other implications of the linear process are also discussed. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. @S1070-6631~00!00708-X# LETTERS