Scale invariance at the onset of turbulence in Couette flow

Laminar-turbulent intermittency is intrinsic to the transitional regime of a wide range of fluid flows including pipe, channel, boundary layer, and Couette flow. In the latter turbulent spots can grow and form continuous stripes, yet in the stripe-normal direction they remain interspersed by laminar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2013-05, Vol.110 (20), p.204502-204502, Article 204502
Main Authors: Shi, Liang, Avila, Marc, Hof, Björn
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Laminar-turbulent intermittency is intrinsic to the transitional regime of a wide range of fluid flows including pipe, channel, boundary layer, and Couette flow. In the latter turbulent spots can grow and form continuous stripes, yet in the stripe-normal direction they remain interspersed by laminar fluid. We carry out direct numerical simulations in a long narrow domain and observe that individual turbulent stripes are transient. In agreement with recent observations in pipe flow, we find that turbulence becomes sustained at a distinct critical point once the spatial proliferation outweighs the inherent decaying process. By resolving the asymptotic size distributions close to criticality we can for the first time demonstrate scale invariance at the onset of turbulence.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.110.204502