The decay of turbulence in rotating flows

Abstract

We present a parametric space study of the decay of turbulence in rotating flows combining direct numerical simulations, large eddy simulations, and phenomenological theory. Several cases are considered: (1) the effect of varying the characteristic scale of the initial conditions when compared with the size of the box, to mimic "bounded" and "unbounded" flows; (2) the effect of helicity (correlation between the velocity and vorticity); (3) the effect of Rossby and Reynolds numbers; and (4) the effect of anisotropy in the initial conditions. Initial conditions include the Taylor-Green vortex, the Arn'old-Beltrami-Childress flow, and random flows with large-scale energy spectrum proportional to $k^4$. The decay laws obtained in the simulations for the energy, helicity, and enstrophy in each case can be explained with phenomenological arguments that separate the decay of two-dimensional from three-dimensional modes, and that take into account the role of helicity and rotation in slowing down the energy decay. The time evolution of the energy spectrum and development of anisotropies in the simulations are also discussed. Finally, the effect of rotation and helicity in the skewness and kurtosis of the flow is considered.

Sections reordered to address comments by referees

References in corpus (6)

• Generation of magnetic field by dynamo action in a turbulent flow of liquid sodium
• Scale interactions and scaling laws in rotating flows at moderate Rossby numbers and large Reynolds numbers
• Helicity cascades in rotating turbulence
• Scaling and energy transfer in rotating turbulence
• Spectral Modeling of Turbulent Flows and the Role of Helicity
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Cited by in corpus (13)

• Coherent structures and extreme events in rotating multiphase turbulent flows
• Direct and inverse energy cascades in a forced rotating turbulence experiment
• Anisotropy and non-universality in scaling laws of the large scale energy spectrum in rotating turbulence
• Dual cascade and dissipation mechanisms in helical quantum turbulence
• Helicity, Topology and Kelvin Waves in reconnecting quantum knots
• Helicity dynamics in stratified turbulence in the absence of forcing
• Forcing-dependent dynamics and emergence of helicity in rotating turbulence
• The decay of Batchelor and Saffman rotating turbulence
• Enstrophy transfers in helical turbulence
• Spectral imbalance in the inertial range dynamics of decaying rotating turbulence
• Topological Constraints in the Reconnection of Vortex Braids
• Decay of isotropic flow and anisotropic flow with rotation or magnetic field or both in a weakly nonlinear regime
• On Galilean Invariance of Mean Kinetic Helicity