Kinematic simulation of turbulent dispersion of triangles

Description

As three particles are advected by a turbulent flow, they separate from each other and develop nontrivial geometries, which effectively reflect the structure of the turbulence. We investigate here the geometry, in a statistical sense, of three Lagrangian particles advected, in two dimensions, by kinematic simulation (KS). KS is a Lagrangian model of turbulent diffusion that makes no use of any correlation in time at any level. With this approach, situations with a very large range of inertial scales and varying persistence of spatial flow structure can be studied. We first demonstrate that the model flow reproduces recent experimental results at low Reynolds numbers. The statistical properties of the shape distribution at a much higher Reynolds number is then considered. The numerical results support the existence of nontrivial shape statistics, with a high probability of having elongated triangles. Even at the highest available inertial range of scales, corresponding to a ratio between large and small scale L/= 17 000, a perfect self-similar regime is not found. The effects of the parameters of the synthetic flow, such as the exponent of the spectrum and the effect of the sweeping affect our results, are also discussed. Special attention is given to the effects of persistence of spatial flow structure.

Abstract

13 pages

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