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Direct numerical simulation of stationary homogeneous stratified sheared turbulence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2012

D. Chung  and
G. Matheou
D. Chung*
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
G. Matheou
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: dchung@jpl.nasa.gov
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Abstract

Using direct numerical simulation, we investigate stationary and homogeneous shear-driven turbulence in various stratifications, ranging from neutral to very stable. To attain and maintain a stationary flow, we throttle the mean shear so that the net production stays constant for all times. This results in a flow that is characterized solely by its mean shear and its mean buoyancy gradient, independent of initial conditions. The method of throttling is validated by comparison with experimental spectra in the case of neutral stratification. With increasing stratification comes the emergence of vertically sheared large-scale horizontal motions that preclude a straightforward interpretation of flow statistics. However, once these motions are excluded, simply by subtracting the horizontal average, the underlying flow appears amenable to the standard methods of turbulence analysis. It is shown that a direct acknowledgement of the confining influence of the periodic simulation box can lead to a meaningful physical interpretation of the large scales. Once an appropriate confinement scale is identified, many features, including horizontal spectra, flux–gradient relationships and length scales, of stratified sheared turbulence can be readily understood, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in terms of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory. Finally, the similarity-theory framework is used to interpret the scaling of the vertical diapycnal diffusivity in stratified turbulence.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Ocean processes Turbulent Flows: Stratified turbulence Turbulent Flows: Turbulence simulation
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 696 , 10 April 2012 , pp. 434 - 467
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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