Still today, turbulence in fluids is considered as one of the most
difficult problems of modern physics. Yet we are quite far from the
complexity of microscopic molecular physics, since we only deal with
Newtonian mechanics laws applied to a continuum, in which the effect
of molecular fluctuations has been smoothed out and is represented by
molecular-viscosity coefficients. Such a system has a dual behaviour
of determinism in the Laplacian sense, and extreme sensitivity to
initial conditions because of its very strong non linear character.
One does not know, for instance, how to predict the critical Reynolds
number of transition to turbulence in a pipe, nor how to compute
precisely the drag of a car or an aircraft, even with today's largest
computers. 1 We know, since the meteorologist Richardson, numerical
schemes allow ing us to solve in a deterministic manner the
equations of motion, starting with a given initial state and with
prescribed boundary conditions. They are based on moment um and energy
balances. However, such aresolution requires formidable computing
power, and is only possible for low Reynolds numbers. These
Direct-Numerical Simulations may involve calculating the interaction
of several million interacting sites. Generally, industrial, natural,
or experimental configurations involve Reynolds numbers that are far
too large to allow direct simulations,2 and the only possibility then
is Large Eddy Simulation, where the small-scale turbulent
fluctuations are themselves smoothed out and modelled via
eddy-viscosity and diffusivity assumptions.
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An Introduction
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9783662044162
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
Springer
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter