English

Invariant Solution underlying Oblique Stripe Patterns in Plane Couette Flow

Fluid Dynamics 2019-11-11 v1

Abstract

When subcritical shear flows transition to turbulence, laminar and turbulent flow often coexists in space, giving rise to turbulent-laminar patterns. Most prominent are regular stripe patterns with large-scale periodicity and oblique orientation. Oblique stripes are a robust phenomenon, observed in experiments and flow simulations, yet their origin remains unclear. We demonstrate the existence of an invariant equilibrium solution of the fully nonlinear 3D Navier-Stokes equations that resembles the oblique pattern of turbulent-laminar stripes in plane Couette flow. We uncover the origin of the stripe equilibrium and show how it emerges from the well-studied Nagata equilibrium via two successive symmetry-breaking bifurcations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1809.02877,
  title  = {Invariant Solution underlying Oblique Stripe Patterns in Plane Couette Flow},
  author = {Florian Reetz and Tobias Kreilos and Tobias M. Schneider},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1809.02877},
  year   = {2019}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T03:59:03.627Z