Selective Decay And Coherent Vortices in Two-Dimensional Incompressible Turbulence

Authors

William H. Matthaeus, University of Delaware
W. Troy Stribling, University of Delaware
Daniel Martinez, University of Delaware
Sean Oughton, University of Delaware
David Montgomery, Dartmouth College

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-27-1991

Publication Title

Physical Review Letters

Department

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

Numerical solution of two-dimensional incompressible hydrodynamics shows that states of a near-minimal ratio of enstrophy to energy can be attained in times short compared with the flow decay time, confirming the simplest turbulent selective decay conjecture, and suggesting that coherent vortex structures do not terminate nonlinear processes. After all possible vortex mergers occur, the vorticity attains a particlelike character, suggested by the late-time similarity of the streamlines to Ewald potential contours.

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevLett.66.2731

Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation

Matthaeus, William H.; Stribling, W. Troy; Martinez, Daniel; Oughton, Sean; and Montgomery, David, "Selective Decay And Coherent Vortices in Two-Dimensional Incompressible Turbulence" (1991). Dartmouth Scholarship. 2022.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/2022