Lectures for ES912, Term 1, 2003.

R.M. Kerr, University of Warwick

November 20, 2003
Outline
1. Introduction, Marking
(a) What is turbulence?
(b) Types of Turbulent Flow
(c) Properties (Navier-Stokes equations.)
(d) Reynolds averaging
2. Classical phenomenological equations
Mixing length models
k models
3. Statistical theory of turbulence
4. Engineering applications (Reynolds averaging)
5. Large-eddy simulations versus Direct numerical simulations
6. Coherent structures
(a) Laminar-turbulence transition (Kelvin-Helmholtz)
(b) Mixing layer
(c) Boundary layer
7. Vortex dynamics
1
1 Introduction
u
t
+ (u

)u =
1

P +
2
u

u = 0 (1)
R = UL/ (2)
1.1 What is turbulence?
1.2 Marking
1.3 Assignment titles
1.4 Types of turbulent ows: Pictures
Coherent Structures
1.5 Properties
1.6 Reynolds averaging
u
i
= U
i
+ u
i
(3)
(

U

)U
i
=
1

i
P +
2
U
i

ij
(4)
2 Classical phenomenological equations
2.1 Mixing length models

12
=
dx
2
dt
x
2
U
1
y
=
1
2

dx
2
2
dt
U
1
y
(5)

12
= u

U
1
y
= c
1
c
2
LU
s
U
1
y
(6)
2
2.2 Derivation of a simple eddy viscosity

12
= (c
1
c
2
LU
s
)
U
1
y
=
T
U
1
y
and
ij
=
T
U
i
x
j
(7)
2.3 Derivation of log-law of a boundary layer using mixing length theory
U
1
u

=
1

ln x
2
+ constant (8)
3
3 Similarity solutions
Assumptions:

U = (U
1
, U
2
, 0)
Wakes : U
1
(x
2
) U
0
U
s
(9)
Jets and mixing layers : U
1
U
s
(10)
3.1 Momentum equations for

U = (U
1
, U
2
, 0)
U
1
U
1
x
1
+ U
2
U
1
x
2
+

x
2
(uv) +

x
1
(u
2
1
) =
1

P
x
1
+
_
_
_

2
U
1
x
2
1
+

2
U
1
x
2
2
_
_
_ (11)
U
1
U
2
x
1
+ U
2
U
2
x
2
+

x
1
(uv) +

x
2
(u
2
2
) =
1

P
x
2
+
_
_
_

2
U
2
x
2
1
+

2
U
2
x
2
2
_
_
_ (12)
U
1A
U
2
x
1

U
1A
L
U
s

L
=
_

_
U
1A
u
U
s
u
_
_

L
_
_
2
_

_
u
2

(13)
P + v
2
= P

(14)
Which is just the Bernoulli principle.
U
1A
U
1
x
1
U
1A
U
s
L
=
_
_
U
1A
u
U
s
u
_
_

L
_
_
_
_
u
2

(15)
U
1A
u
U
s
u
_
_

L
_
_
O(1) and maybe
_
_
U
s
u
_
_
2
_
_

L
_
_
O(1) (16)
Therefore, the equation we will solve is
U
1A
U
1
x
1
+

x
2
(uv) = 0 (17)
Separate simplications for U
1A
will now be made for wakes and for jets and mixing layers.
4
The question now is how to set U
1A
, U
s
and u. We will assume in all cases that U
s
u.
Wakes: From (9) U
1A
U
0
U
s
.
U
0
U
1
x
1
+

x
2
(uv) = 0 (18)
Jets and mixing layers: Assume U
1A
U
s
.
U
1
U
1
x
1
+ U
2
U
1
x
2
+

x
2
(uv) = 0 (19)
The objective now is to assume self-preservation forms for U
1
and
12
U
1
(y) = U
s
(x
1
)f(y/) and
12
= uv = U
2
s
g(y/) (or u
2
g(y/) ), (20)
3.2 Wakes: self-preservation
U
0
_

U
2
s
dU
s
dx
_

_f + U
0
_
_
1
U
s
d
dx
_
_
f

= g

=
1
R
T
f

(21)
3.2.1 Momentum integral

U
1
(U
1
U
0
)dy = M (22)
U
0
U
s

f()d = constant = M (23)

which requires for a plane wake that
U
s
= Ax
1/2
= Bx
1/2
(24)
5
3.2.2 Momentum thickness
Let us dene the momentum thickness such that
U
2
0
= M (25)
3.2.3 Mean-velocity prole
Make the following eddy viscosity assumption:
g =
uv
U
2
s
=
1
U
2
s

T
U
y
=
T
1
U
s

=
1
R
T
f

(26)
U
0
_

U
2
s
dU
s
dx
_

_f + U
0
_
_
1
U
s
d
dx
_
_
f

=
1
R
T
f

to get (f

+ f) + f

= 0 (27)
3.3 Jets and mixing layers: self-preservation
6
3.4 Energy budget
Let us consider the equation for the large-scale energy in a plane wake, E
L
= (1/2)U
2
1
= (U
0
+ U

1
)
2
.
This can be obtained by multiplying (18) by U
1
= U
0
+ U

1
. The resulting equation is:
U
0

x
1
_
_
1
2
U
2
0
+ U
0
U

1
+
1
2
(U

1
)
2
_
_
+ (U
0
+ U

1
)

x
2
(uv) = 0
The derivative of (1/2)U
2
0
is clearly 0. U
0
(/x
1
)U

1
+ U
0
(/x
2
)(uv) is U
0
multiplying (18), so that
drops out, and we are left with
U
0

x
1
1
2
(U

1
)
2
+ U

x
2
(uv) = 0
or U
0

x
1
1
2
(U

1
)
2
+

x
2
(uvU

1
) = uv
U

1
x
2
(28)
The total energy E
s
=
_

1
2
(U

1
)
2
dy U
2
s
(x
1/2
)
2
x
1/2
x
1/2
which is decaying.
Why does the energy decrease?
The rst term represents the advection of the large-scale energy decit. The term with the Reynolds
stress uv has been split to separate the conservative transport and the drag. The transport is conser-
vative because it integrates to 0. Because uv is negative (for y > 0), the drag term
uv
U

1
x
2
< 0 removes energy from the system.
Where does the energy go?
7
3.5 Turbulent energy budget
The energy budget equation from the rst week of lectures is,

t
(
1
2
u
2
) +

(u
1
2
u
2
) =
1

(uP) +
j
(u
i

j
u
i
) +
ij

i
u
j
(
j
u
i
)
2
(29)
where
ij
= u
i
u
j
is the Reynolds stress and

u = 0 has been used to create the divergences in the
transport due to the nonlinear, pressure, and viscous terms, red is used to highlight the Reynolds stress
terms, which result in the production of turbulent kinetic energy and the viscous or dissipation terms.
If the turbulence at a location is steady (
t
= 0) these will balance.
We now want to consider only those terms appropriate for a wake, using order of magnitudes estimates
as was done to get the prole equations.
Figure 1: Budgets for energy of mean velocity from (28) and for the uctuating turbulent velocity from (30).
Rewrite the turbulent kinetic energy as
1
2
q
2
=
1
2
(u
2
1
+ u
2
2
+ u
2
3
) =
1
2
(u
2
+ v
2
+ w
2
)
8
Its budget for a wake is
0 = U
0

x
1
1
2
q
2
uv
U
1
x
2

x
2
v
_
_
1
2
q
2
+
P

_
_
(30)
The terms are advection, production, transport, and dissipation. Note that the production here is the
opposite of the drag in (28). So globally, excluding the dissipation in (30), energy is conserved.
The dierences with the full budget equation (29) are that (30) uses
1
2
q
2
for
1
2
u
2
, the viscous transport
term is neglected, the time derivative is neglected, and the advection due to the driving velocity U
0
has
been pulled out of

(u
1
2
q
2
). Except for the large scale advection, all derivatives with respect to x
1
are
neglected because /
x1
1/L.
9
Figure 2: Budget for energy of mean velocity from (28).
U
0

x
1
1
2
(U

1
)
2
+

x
2
(uvU

1
) = uv
U

1
x
2
10
Figure 3: Budget for the uctuating turbulent velocity from (30).
0 = U
0

x
1
1
2
q
2
uv
U
1
x
2

x
2
v
_
_
1
2
q
2
+
P

_
_

11
4 Statistical theory of turbulence
4.1 Moments
When Reynolds averaging was introduced we divided the total velocity u into its mean, or large-scale
component, U and a uctuating component u = u

, without really dening the uctuating component

u
i
= u
i
U
i
(3)
If the probability of a given uctuation of u is B(u), what enters into averaged equations are the
moments of this distribution.
u
n
i
=
_
dV u
n
i
(x, y, z)B(u
i
)
Sometimes we use joint probability distributions B(u
i
, u
j
) when there are several quantities, for exam-
ple
u
i
u
j
=
_
dV (u
i
u
j
)B(u
i
, u
j
)
By the denition of u = u U, where U = dV uB(u), the rst moment of u is 0. The mean-square
deviation or the variance is the 2nd moment

2
= u
2
=
_
dV u
2
B(u)
where is the standard deviation.
Even though the 1st moment is 0, the 3rd moment might not be. The 3rd moment represents any
asymmetry in the distribution. Its non-dimensionalised measure is called the
skewness S = u
3
/
3
Its sign can tell you something about the direction of transport because it is the 3rd moments that enter
into the kinetic energy transport equation (29).
The non-dimensionalised 4th moment is the
kurtosis or atness K = u
4
/
4
12
Closure problem
The equations for the 2nd moments, that is the equations for the energies and Reynolds stresses
u
i
u
j
, depend upon the 3rd moments, the transport terms.
The equations for the 3rd moments depend upon the 4th moments
etc.
That it is impossible to close the higher-order moment equations in terms of combinations of the lower-
order moments is the closure problem. Many turbulence models depend upon assumptions about
replacing these higher-order moments with products of lower order moments. For example replacing
u
4
by A(u
2
)
2
This is the quasi-normal approximation and is infamous for making the equations non-realisable. That
is, it will predict negative energies. All practical closure schemes, such as k , have strategies for
addressing this problem in simple ways.
13
4.2 Correlations and structure functions
The two-point velocity correlation R
ij
and the second-order structure function are dened as follows:
R
ij
(r)
u
i
(x)u
j
(x + r)
(u
2
i
u
2
j
)
1/2
S
ij
(r) =
(u
i
(x + r) u
i
(x))(u
j
(x + r) u
j
(x))
(u
2
i
u
2
j
)
1/2
(31)
Isotropy implies that any component R
ij
of the 2-point velocity correlation tensor can be written in
terms of f(r) and g(r) as
R
ij
= (f(r) g(r))
r
i
r
j
r
2
+ g(r)
ij
Moreover the continuity equation gives
u
i
x
i
= 0 =
R
ij
r
j
= 0 or f +
1
2
r
df
dr
= g (32)
So there is only one independent function f(r) required to completely dene R
ij
. Substitution of (3.11)
into (3.10) shows that
In isotropic ows, i = j, R
ij
(r) = S
ij
(r) = 0
And taking the limit as r 0, the Reynolds stress
ij
= uv = R
ij
(0) = 0
If i = j and both are in the x direction, these are longitudinal correlations and structure functions.
If i = j and both are perpendicular to the x direction, these are transverse correlations and structure
functions.
By (32), the transverse correlations and structure functions are related. An important test for
isotropy is if R
11
(r) and R
22
(r), or S
11
(r) and S
22
(r), are related in this way, where r is in the 1
direction.
14
There are three length scales that matter:
Integral or forcing scale =

0
R
11
(r)dr
Expanding f(r) for small r : f(r) = f(0)
. .
=1
+r f

(0)
. .
=0
+(r
2
/2)f

(0) + ... = 1
r
2
/2

2
where is the Taylor microscale
=

_
u
2
1
(u
1
/r)
2
is a measure of the ne scales because it is based on a representation of the velocity correlation
valid for small separations. For isotropic turbulence, the dissipation rate
= 15(
u
1
r
)
2
= 15
u
2
1

2
or
2
=
u
2
1
/15
(33)
Kolmogorov microscale : The only quantities that matter are:
the dissipation rate
the viscosity .
The only length scale that can be formed from and is
=
_
_
_

_
_
_
1/4
(34)
15
4.3 Measurement: Test 10Dec03 Assignment: 16Jan04
The measurement of correlations, structure functions, and the length scales above is usually by
A single hot-wire probe measuring a single component of velocity at a single point.
What is measured are time signals.
Taylor frozen turbulence assumption:
If the mean ow U
0
>> u, then the assumption is made that
u(r) = u(t) where r = U
0
t
4.4 Fourier transforms
To aid us in developing closure models and as a tool for understanding the dynamics of turbulence, much
eort has been spent on investigating the properties of the Fourier transformed velocity, the Fourier
transformed equations and the kinetic energy spectrum.
A 1D Fourier transform for a periodic domain 0 x 2 where u(2) = u(0) is a real number is
dened as
u(k) =
1
2
_
2
0
u(x)e
ikx
dx where u(x) =
_

u(k)e
ikx
dk
is the forwards Fourier transform equation. The rst equation is the inverse transform equation. Prac-
tically, the integrals are replace by a nite sums of n periodic points x
i
or wavenumbers k
j
.
u(k
j
) =
1
2

i=0,n1
u(x
i
)e
ik
j
x
i
u(x
i
) =

j=n/2+1,n/2
u(k
j
)e
ik
j
x
i
where x
i
= 2i/n and k
j
= j .
u(k) is a complex number where in 1D, u(k) = u

(k), the complex conjugate.

16
To see that the inverse gives the original function, consider
u(k) =
1
2
_
2
0
u(x)e
ikx
dx = u(k) =
1
2
_
2
0
(
_

u(q)e
iqx
dq)e
ikx
dx =
1
2
_
2
0
(q k)u(q)dx = u(k)
where
_

e
i(qk)x
dq = (q k) is the Kronecker function
Extensions
By normalising x we can apply this to any periodic domain.
What has been dened above is the real-half complex FFT
To extend to 2 and 3D we need to add full FFTs that transform from complex to complex numbers
4.5 Fourier transformed Navier-Stokes equations
u
t
+ (u

)u =
1

P +
2
u
Solution of P: Apply incompressibility to above equations

{...}
1

2
P = (
i
u
j
)(
j
u
i
) + boundary conditions
In general this is dicult to solve. Except for idealised boundary conditions where we can Fourier
transform the Navier-Stokes equations
u(

k)
t
+
_
d
3
pi p u(

k p)u( p) =
1

(i

kP) k
2
u(

k) (35)
where P =
k
j
k
2
_
d
3
p p u(

k p)u
j
( p).
17
4.6 Solving P in Fourier space
The diculty of solving the incompressible equations in physical space is the pressure term. In physical
space, by applying incompressibility to Navier-Stokes

_
_
_
u
t
+ (u

)u =
1

P +
2
u
_
_
_
where the terms in red drop out due to incompressibility and we are left with
(
i
u
j
)(
j
u
i
) =
1

2
P (36)
In Fourier space (
i
u
j
)(
j
u
i
) =
1

2
P becomes( using p
j
u
j
( p) = 0)

_
d
3
p (k
j
p
j
)p
i
u
i
(

k p)u
j
( p) = k
j
_
d
3
p p
i
u
i
(

k p)u
j
( p) = k
2
P(

k) giving
P =
k
j
k
2
_
d
3
p p u(

k p)u
j
( p). Then to get

P multiply P by ik
i
to get
ik
i
P = i
k
i
k
j
k
2
_
d
3
p p u(

k p)u
j
( p)
and the pressure can be folded into the non-linear term converting (35) into
u
i
(

k)
t
+
_
_

ij

k
i
k
j
k
2
_
_
_
d
3
p i p u(

k p)u
j
( p) = k
2
u
i
(

k) (37)
18
4.7 Fourier energy equation
To get an equation for the energy spectrum E(k) as a function of a 3D wavenumber k = |k| rst
multiply by u, replace the cubic non-linear term that includes the convolution

N with the projection
factor by T
i
(

k),
let the energy E(

k) =
1
2
u
2
(

k) and let the dissipation (

k) = 2k
2
E(

k) to get
u
_

_
u(

k)
t
+
_
_

ij

k
i
k
j
k
2
_
_
N(

k) = k
2
u(

k)
_

_
which becomes
E(

k)
t
+ T(

k) = (

k)
Finally, to get an energy equation that depends only on |k|, integrate in shells over the solid angle
E(k) =
_
|k|=k
dE(

k) to get
E(k)
t
+ T(k) + F(k) = (k) (38)
where F(k) is some prescribed forcing. The phenomenology of the energy cascade and the formation of
the energy spectrum is based upon this equation.
Energy cascade:
Assume that the forcing and dissipation balance, F(k)dk = dk = .
Assume that F(k) is concentrated at small k
f
and (k) is concentrated at large k

.
Assume that between these regimes, T(k) is constant such that for k
f
<< k << k

, T(k) = ,
where is the ow of energy through wavenumber.
For any such k, assume that E(k) depends only on and k.
then by dimensional analysis, where is a dimensionless constant determined by experiments
E(k) =
2/3
k
5/3
(39)
19
4.8 Energy spectrum
Regimes : E(k) k
4
E(k) =
2/3
k
5/3
E(k) exp(2.1k)
Figure 4: k
5/3
energy spectrum. = k
2
E(k). Note that the Kolmogorov wavenumber is slightly higher
than the peak of the dissipation spectrum.
20
Spectral regimes and structure function scaling:
E(k) k
4
. Energy-containing regime: For k < 1/, the integral scale.
Either at if the forcing is at the largest scale of the ow, or a positive power law.
There exists a theoretical argument that it can be at most k
4
.
E(k) =
2/3
k
5/3
. Inertial-subrange. 1/ < k < 1/
Scaling theory from Kolmogorov (1941), no rigourous theory.
Supported by experiments and DNS for isotropic, homogeneous three-dimensional turbulence
The exponent is very close to -5/3
1.75 if k is the 3D wavenumber.
0.5 if k is the 1D wavenumber.
E(k) k
n
exp(2.1k) where n = 5/3. Dissipation regime. k > 1/
The mathematics of singularities of the Navier-Stokes equations in complex time suggests an
exponential dependence.
Supported by direct numerical simulations, from which the factor 2.1 comes.
Experiments; It is dicult to measure these small scales with hot-wire probes.
Structure functions: S
2
(r) =
2/3
r
2/3
in the inertial subrange > r > .
In the hypothetical construct of 2D turbulence, a -5/3 spectrum is also predicted. But the sign of T(k)
will be reversed, energy ows up the spectrum. This might be important in geophysical ows.
It is generally believed that universal, but this is unproven. Similarly, no theory predicts the -5/3
exponent from rst principles and there are claims for small corrections to the exponent. For practical
matters, these disputes do not matter.
21
5 Large-eddy simulations (LES) versus Direct numerical simulations (DNS)
Complicated boundaries
Re
Simple boundary conditions
Re
Viscous terms
DNS
Finite dierence, mapping
very low Reynolds numbers
Fourier or related methods
high Reynolds number
Newtonian
2
u
LES
Models for wall stresses,
moderate
same as DNS
high Re
Smagorinsky


T
(x)

u
Numerics

Non-linear terms
Pressure
Complicated boundaries
Uses
+ Finite-dierence vs.
+ Easy (u

)u
+ Dicult
+ Possible
+ Practical
* Fourier methods
* Use FFTs d
3
pi p u
kp
u
p
* Easy
* Impossible
* Idealised
22
6 Engineering applications and k models
Zero-equation models
Cebeci-Smith model
Baldwin-Lomax model
Two-equation models such as k
Stress equation models
7 Coherent structures
7.1 Laminar-turbulence transition (Kelvin-Helmholtz)
7.2 Mixing layer
7.3 Boundary layer
8 Vortex dynamics
23