RESUMEN
To understand the mechanism of the self-sustenance of subcritical turbulence in spectrally stable (constant) shear flows, we performed direct numerical simulations of homogeneous shear turbulence for different aspect ratios of the flow domain with subsequent analysis of the dynamical processes in spectral or Fourier space. There are no exponentially growing modes in such flows and the turbulence is energetically supported only by the linear growth of Fourier harmonics of perturbations due to the shear flow non-normality. This non-normality-induced growth, also known as nonmodal growth, is anisotropic in spectral space, which, in turn, leads to anisotropy of nonlinear processes in this space. As a result, a transverse (angular) redistribution of harmonics in Fourier space is the main nonlinear process in these flows, rather than direct or inverse cascades. We refer to this type of nonlinear redistribution as the nonlinear transverse cascade. It is demonstrated that the turbulence is sustained by a subtle interplay between the linear nonmodal growth and the nonlinear transverse cascade. This course of events reliably exemplifies a well-known bypass scenario of subcritical turbulence in spectrally stable shear flows. These two basic processes mainly operate at large length scales, comparable to the domain size. Therefore, this central, small wave number area of Fourier space is crucial in the self-sustenance; we defined its size and labeled it as the vital area of turbulence. Outside the vital area, the nonmodal growth and the transverse cascade are of secondary importance: Fourier harmonics are transferred to dissipative scales by the nonlinear direct cascade. Although the cascades and the self-sustaining process of turbulence are qualitatively the same at different aspect ratios, the number of harmonics actively participating in this process (i.e., the harmonics whose energies grow more than 10% of the maximum spectral energy at least once during evolution) varies, but always remains quite large (equal to 36, 86, and 209) in the considered here three aspect ratios. This implies that the self-sustenance of subcritical turbulence cannot be described by low-order models.
RESUMEN
We find and investigate via numerical simulations self-sustained two-dimensional turbulence in a magnetohydrodynamic flow with a maximally simple configuration: plane, noninflectional (with a constant shear of velocity), and threaded by a parallel uniform background magnetic field. This flow is spectrally stable, so the turbulence is subcritical by nature and hence it can be energetically supported just by a transient growth mechanism due to shear flow non-normality. This mechanism appears to be essentially anisotropic in the spectral (wave-number) plane and operates mainly for spatial Fourier harmonics with streamwise wave numbers less than the ratio of flow shear to Alfvén speed, ky
RESUMEN
Classically, the net action of nonlinear turbulent processes is interpreted as either a direct or inverse cascade. However, in nonuniform/shear flows the dominant process is a nonlinear redistribution over wave number angle of perturbation spatial Fourier harmonics. We call this process a nonlinear transverse redistribution (NTR). This phenomenon is demonstrated for a simple two-dimensional constant shear (non-normal) flow by numerically simulating the nonlinear dynamics of coherent and stochastic vortical perturbations in the flow. NTR is a general feature of nonlinear processes that should manifest itself in nonuniform engineering, environmental, and astrophysical flows. The conventional characterization of turbulence in terms of direct and inverse cascades, which ignores NTR, appears to be misleading for shear flow turbulence. We focus on the action of nonlinear processes on the spectral energy. NTR redistributes perturbations over different quadrants of the wave number plane and the interplay of this nonlinear redistribution with linear phenomena becomes intricate: it can realize either positive or negative feedback. In the case of positive feedback, it repopulates the quadrants in wave number space where the shear flow induces linear transient growth.
RESUMEN
The background of three-dimensional hydrodynamic (vortical) fluctuations in a stochastically forced, laminar, incompressible, plane Couette flow is simulated numerically. The fluctuating field is anisotropic and has well pronounced peculiarities: (i) the hydrodynamic fluctuations exhibit nonexponential, transient growth; (ii) fluctuations with the streamwise characteristic length scale about 2 times larger than the channel width are predominant in the fluctuating spectrum instead of streamwise constant ones; (iii) nonzero cross correlations of velocity (even streamwise-spanwise) components appear; (iv) stochastic forcing destroys the spanwise reflection symmetry (inherent to the linear and full Navier-Stokes equations in a case of the Couette flow) and causes an asymmetry of the dynamical processes.
