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Understanding how turbulence enhances irreversible scalar mixing in density-stratified fluids is a central problem in geophysical fluid dynamics. While isotropic overturning regions are commonly the focus of mixing analyses, we here…
We explore the dynamics of inclined temporal gravity currents using direct numerical simulation, and find that the current creates an environment in which the flux Richardson number $Ri_f$, gradient Richardson number $Ri_g$, and turbulent…
With the aim of assessing internal wave-driven mixing in the ocean, we develop a new technique for direct numerical simulations of stratified turbulence. Since the spatial scale of oceanic internal gravity waves is typically much larger…
We consider turbulence driven by a large-scale horizontal shear in Kolmogorov flow (i.e. with sinusoidal body forcing) and a background linear stable stratification with buoyancy frequency $N_B^2$ imposed in the third, vertical direction in…
This study starts with balances deduced by Baumert and Peters (2004, 2005) from results of stratified-shear experiments made in channels and wind tunnels by Itsweire (1984) and Rohr and Van Atta (1987), and of free-decay experiments in a…
This paper presents a new theory of turbulent mixing in stirred reactors. The degree of homogeneity of a mixed fluid may be characterized by the Kolmogorov micro-scale. The smaller its value, the better homogeneity. The micro-scale scales…
In this paper, the physics of flow instability and turbulent transition in shear flows is studied by analyzing the energy variation of fluid particles under the interaction of base flow with a disturbance. For the first time, a model…
Turbulent water motions are important for the exchange of momentum, heat, nutrients, and suspended matter including sediments in the deep-sea that is generally stably stratified in density. To maintain ocean-density stratification, an…
The large-scale structures in the ocean and the atmosphere are in geostrophic balance, and a conduit must be found to channel the energy to the small scales where it can be dissipated. In turbulence this takes the form of an energy cascade,…
We demonstrate an unexpected connection between isotropic turbulence and wall-bounded shear flows. We perform direct numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence forced at large scales at moderate Reynolds numbers and observe sudden…
We investigate three-dimensional turbulence in a stably stratified fluid driven by a vertically sheared Kolmogorov flow using direct numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations. As stratification increases, mean profiles evolve toward…
A new universal theory for flow instability and turbulent transition is proposed in this study. Flow instability and turbulence transition have been challenging subjects for fluid dynamics for a century. The critical condition of turbulent…
Unstable shear layers in environmental and industrial flows roll up into a series of vortices, which often form complex nonlinear merging patterns like pairs and triplets. These patterns crucially determine the subsequent turbulence, mixing…
This work presents numerical results on the transport of heat and chemical species by shear-induced turbulence in strongly stratified but thermally diffusive environments. The shear instabilities driven in this regime are sometimes called…
The dynamics of a shock wave impinging on a transitional high-enthalpy boundary layer out of thermochemical equilibrium is investigated for the first time by means of a direct numerical simulation. The freestream Mach number is equal to 9…
The transport of heat that results from turbulence is a major factor limiting the temperature gradient, and thus the performance, of fusion devices. We use nonlinear simulations to show that a toroidal equilibrium scale sheared flow can…
The purpose of this contribution is to summarize and discuss recent advances regarding the onset of turbulence in shear flows. The absence of a clear cut instability mechanism, the spatio-temporal intermittent character and extremely long…
Turbulent state of spectrally stable shear flows may be developed and sustained according to the bypass scenario of transition. If it works in non-magnetised boundless and homogeneous quasi-Keplerian flow, transiently growing shearing…
In the context of subaqueous ripple and dune formation, we present here a Reynolds averaged calculation of the turbulent flow over a topography. We perform a weakly non-linear expansion of the velocity field, sufficiently accurate to…
Analyzing a large data base of high-resolution three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of decaying rotating stratified flows, we show that anomalous mixing and dissipation, marked anisotropy, and strong intermittency are all observed…