Abstract
ALTHOUGH well developed turbulence exhibits complex, chaotic spatial and temporal behaviour, there is much experimental evidence to suggest that a remarkable degree of coherence is also present1. It is known2 that correlations in small-scale turbulent motions show significant deviations from the gaussian statistics usually expected for large, randomly interacting systems. This phenomenon, known as intermittency, has long resisted analytical description because of the lack of a simple, universal characterization of turbulence structures3. Here we report numerical simulations which show that there are remarkably simple spatial structures associated with intermittent regions of vorticity. In particular, in contrast to the classical description of turbulence as an array of 'pancake'- or 'lasagne'-like eddies4, we find that high-amplitude vortex structures are tube-like and that they generate local velocity fields that spiral around them.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hussain, A. K. M. F. J. Fluid Mech. 173, 303–356 (1986).
She, Z.-S., Jackson, E. & Orszag, S. A. J. Sci. Comput. 3, 407–434 (1988).
Frisch, U. & Orszag, S. A. Physics Today 24–32 (January 1990).
Betchov, R. J. Fluid Mech. 1, 497–504 (1956).
Kraichnan, R. H. Phys. Fluids 9, 1728–1752 (1966).
Yakhot, V. & Orszag, S. A. J. Sci. Comput. 1, 3–51 (1986).
Ashurst, W. T., Kerstein, A. R., Kerr, R. M. & Gibson, C. H. Phys. Fluids 30, 2343–2353 (1987).
Kerr, R. M. Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 783–786 (1987).
She, Z.-S., Jackson, E. & Orszag, S. A. J. Fluid Mech. (submitted).
Siggia, E. D. J. Fluid Mech. 107, 375–406 (1981).
Hosokawa, I. & Yamamoto, K. J. phys. Soc. Japan 58, 20–23 (1989).
Moffatt, H. K. J. Fluid Mech. 159, 359–378 (1985).
Batchelor, G. K. & Townsend, A. A. Proc. R. Soc. A199, 238–255 (1949).
Pelz, R., Yakhot, V., Orszag, S. A., Shtilman, L. & Levich, E. Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 2505–2508 (1985).
Yakhot, V. & Orszag, S. A. Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.) 2, 417–427 (1987).
Kraichnan, R. H. & Panda, R. Phys. Fluids 31, 2395–2399 (1988).
Shtilman, L. & Polifke, W. Phys. Fluids A1, 778–779 (1989).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
She, ZS., Jackson, E. & Orszag, S. Intermittent vortex structures in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. Nature 344, 226–228 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344226a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/344226a0
This article is cited by
-
Probing dynamics of elliptical vortex rings via direct vorticity measurements with digital inline holography
Experiments in Fluids (2024)
-
Relationships between Cloud Droplet Spectral Relative Dispersion and Entrainment Rate and Their Impacting Factors
Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (2022)
-
Direct measurement of vorticity using tracer particles with internal markers
Experiments in Fluids (2022)
-
Deviations from Taylor’s frozen hypothesis and scaling laws in inhomogeneous jet flows
Communications Physics (2021)
-
LES and DNS of symmetrically roughened turbulent channel flows
Acta Mechanica (2021)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
