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Turbulent erosion of a stably stratified fluid as a test of intermittency models

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

William H. Press
William H. Press
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University
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Abstract

As a model for the erosion of a stably stratified fluid by an overlying turbulent region, the rate of advance of the mixing interface is calculated in terms of the probability distribution for eddies as a function of their size and velocity. Predicted rates of advance are then evaluated for two current models of intermittency in small-scale turbulence. Compared to available experimental data, one intermittency model, the β-model, is found to be in good agreement, while the other, the log-normal hypothesis, is discordant; unfortunately, the Reynolds number of the existing experiments is not large enough to yield a definitive test. At higher Re, similar experiments might be a useful complement to the alternative of measuring high-order moments. Some related experiments are suggested to test the model and measure the fractal dimension D.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 107 , June 1981 , pp. 455 - 463
Copyright
© 1981 Cambridge University Press

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