Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 2605.20046

Two-point enstrophy dynamics in homogeneous isotropic turbulence

Abstract

In the present work we investigate the multiscale dynamics of enstrophy in homogeneous isotropic turbulence by exploiting the two-point formalism provided by the Kármán-Howarth-Monin-Hill approach. The study is conducted on direct numerical simulations with a Taylor-based Reynolds number in the range of $140 \lesssim Re_λ \lesssim 400$. The two-point enstrophy budget at scales $r > 10 η$ appears to be entirely determined by production via vortex stretching, which balances enstrophy destruction, and to be dominated by the diffusive transport at smaller scales, thus preventing the emergence of a range dominated by the inertial transport of enstrophy. The decomposition in longitudinal and transverse contributions also highlights a dual nature of the inertial enstrophy flux. In particular, enstrophy appears to be transferred across scales through a non-trivial combination of direct and reverse interscale transfer. It is shown that the dual nature of this transfer is strictly related to the vortex stretching mechanism, which, in addition to producing enstrophy through vorticity amplification, also transfers longitudinal vorticity towards larger scales (by stretching the vortical elements) and transverse vorticity towards smaller scales (by contracting these vortical elements in the radial direction). The sum of these two contributions results in an overall transfer of enstrophy from large towards small scales. We propose the use of the pressure transport term as a proxy to obtain some information on the dynamics of relevant events of inertial energy and enstrophy transport. The new findings highlight the relevance of inertial compression events in longitudinal energy transport. At the same time, a good correlation between transverse energy transport events and the radial contraction of vortical elements due to vortex stretching mechanisms is also found.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Gabriele Boga, Carlos B. da Silva, Sergio Chibbaro, Andrea Cimarelli. 2026-05-19. Two-point enstrophy dynamics in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20046

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Mathematical modeling on peristaltic flow of a Prandtl fluid with effects of slip conditions and inclined magnetic field

The manuscript provides a description of a theoretical analysis of a non-Newtonian Prandtl fluid subject to peristaltic flow through an inclined asymmetric channel. We explore the effect of an inclined magnetic field on the peristaltic flow. This is relevant for applications involving fluid flow in narrow, inclined (tilted) tubes similar to blood vessels or the digestive system. The model also includes thermodynamic aspects such as heat diffusion (the Soret effect) and viscous dissipation resulting from wall-fluid slip conditions, which may help optimize medical devices such as lab-on-a-chip systems and dialysis machines. In this study, the concentration of a generic chemical, temperature, and fluid velocity are taken into account through mass, heat, and momentum balances, respectively. The solution is approximated using numerical techniques suitable for long wavelengths (low frequency) and low Reynolds numbers. The study also discusses trapping phenomena, which are crucial from a clinical point of view. The developed insights can improve the understanding of physiological flows in the gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels. By understanding how the fluid moves and how particles are trapped, these insights may contribute to the design of improved medical pumps and artificial organs. Graphical visualizations are provided for the fluid velocity profile, temperature distribution, and concentration of a generic chemical. Furthermore, the numerical results are validated through comparison with a closed-form solution from a benchmark problem.

physics.flu-dyn

Discovery of a dispersion model at high Peclet numbers

Peclet number characterises the transition from classical Taylor-Aris dispersion to convection-dominated longitudinal solute transport, with the classical model becoming inadequate at extremely high radial Peclet number $Pe_r$. We develop a novel explicit-closure one-dimensional (1-D) effective dispersion model for this high-$Pe_r$ regime by introducing two closure coefficients, $θ_u$ and $θ_d$, whose functional structures are identified using low-frequency transfer-function matching and a modified Kolmogorov-Arnold network (KAN). The resulting model captures the transition from classical Taylor-Aris dispersion at low $Pe_r$ to convection-dominated dispersion at high $Pe_r$. Analysis reveals that, in the high-$Pe_r$ regime, axial transport is redistributed between the effective convection flux and the dispersive flux, resulting in a reduced macroscopic convection velocity. Numerical validation demonstrates close agreement with the convection-diffusion model over the investigated high-$Pe_r$ conditions, while the classical Taylor-Aris model exhibits substantial deviations. Application of the proposed model to averaged flow velocity inversion further demonstrates improved velocity estimation, particularly in the high-$Pe_r$ regime. These results highlight the importance of accounting for non-classical dispersion for reliable contrast-agent-based arterial blood flow velocimetry and provide new insight into high-$Pe_r$ mass transport.

physics.flu-dyn

Optimization of fluid mixing by reinforcement learning using limit cycles of a dynamical system

We propose a method to overcome the difficulties encountered when applying reinforcement learning to fluid mixing processes. The proposed method has two main features: (i) it does not require detailed measurements of the flow state, and (ii) by effectively exploiting a stable limit cycle of a two-dimensional dynamical system (the Li'enard system), it can stably perform optimization without imposing explicit constraints on the control parameters. As an illustrative example, we optimize a process in which a fluid contained in a cylindrical vessel is mixed by periodically rotating the vessel. The resulting optimal vessel motion is physically reasonable: it reverses its direction of rotation before a solid-body rotation state is established. Furthermore, even when the fluid viscosity increases with time during the mixing process, the method can continuously adapt the control parameters to the changing viscosity.

physics.flu-dyn