Condensates in thin-layer turbulence
Abstract
We examine the steady state of turbulent flows in thin layers using direct numerical simulations. It is shown that when the layer thickness is smaller than a critical height, an inverse cascade arises which leads to the formation of a steady state condensate where most of the energy is concentrated in the largest scale of the system. For layers of thickness smaller than a second critical height, the flow at steady state becomes exactly two-dimensional. The amplitude of the condensate is studied as a function of layer thickness and Reynolds number. Bi-stability and intermittent bursts are found close to the two critical points. The results are interpreted based on a mean field three-scale model that reproduces some of the basic features of the numerical results.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1808.00578,
title = {Condensates in thin-layer turbulence},
author = {Adrian van Kan and Alexandros Alexakis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1808.00578},
year = {2019}
}