Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “weak turbulence”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Strange attractors in weakly turbulent Couette-Taylor flow

An experiment is conducted on the transition from quasi-periodic to weakly turbulent flow of a fluid contained between concentric cylinders with the inner cylinder rotating and the outer cylinder at rest. Power spectra, phase-space portraits, and circle maps obtained from velocity time-series data indicate that the nonperiodic behavior observed is deterministic, that is, it is described by strange attractors. Various problems that arise in computing the dimension of strange attractors constructed from experimental data are discussed and it is shown that these problems impose severe requirements on the quantity and accuracy of data necessary for determining dimensions greater than about 5. In the present experiment the attractor dimension increases from 2 at the onset of turbulence to about 4 at a Reynolds number 50-percent above the onset of turbulence.

Brandstater, A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Double Resonances and Spectral Scaling in the Weak Turbulence Theory of Rotating and Stratified Turbulence

In rotating turbulence, stably stratified turbulence, and in rotating stratified turbulence, heuristic arguments concerning the turbulent time scale suggest that the inertial range energy spectrum scales as k(exp -2). From the viewpoint of weak turbulence theory, there are three possibilities which might invalidate these arguments: four-wave interactions could dominate three-wave interactions leading to a modified inertial range energy balance, double resonances could alter the time scale, and the energy flux integral might not converge. It is shown that although double resonances exist in all of these problems, they do not influence overall energy transfer. However, the resonance conditions cause the flux integral for rotating turbulence to diverge logarithmically when evaluated for a k(exp -2) energy spectrum; therefore, this spectrum requires logarithmic corrections. Finally, the role of four-wave interactions is briefly discussed.

Rubinstein, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1971

Verification of theory on weak turbulence relating to the sequence of diffuse plasma resonances in space.

An interpretation of the sequence of diffuse plasma resonances observed by space probes (Alouette 2 and ISIS-1 satellites) is developed in terms of wave-particle nonlinear interaction in a weakly turbulent plasma including the electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic wave instability. The longest time duration of the center frequency of the diffuse plasma resonance is found to coincide with the most favorable condition for the electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic wave instability which is obtained by solving the dispersion equation obtained for a linear approximation of the kinetic wave equation for the warm magnetoactive plasma. The electrostatic field due to the transmission of the intense rf pulse produces plasma turbulence involving nonlinear wave-wave interaction and temperature anisotropy which leads to instability. This instability supplies energy to the turbulence. The process can be thought of as a feedback system.

Oya, H.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Reverse Energy Cascade in Turbulent Weakly Ionized Plasmas

For systems far from equilibrium, the neglect of a role for viscous effects in turbulence may be generally inappropriate when the relaxation time for the molecular process approaches the local flow time (Orou et al. (1996)). Furthermore, for stationary collisional plasmas, the conventional Reynolds number is irrelevant under circumstances where the standard features of turbulence in ordinary gases are observed in the plasma (Johnson et al. (1987)). The current theoretical understanding of these turbulent phenomenon is particularly inadequate for turbulence associated with ionizing shock waves; generally speaking, thermodynamic, acoustic and pressure fluctuations are all seen as amplified across the shock wave followed by a dramatic decay (relaminarization) usually attributed to a lack of importance of viscosity in the turbulent regions. This decay would be accelerated when the flow speed is also reduced due to the importance usually given to the conventional Reynolds number (which is directly proportional to velocity) as a quality of turbulence index. However, evidence supporting this consensus is lacking. By contrast, recent evidence of vanishing triple correlations form De Silva et al. (1996) provides strong support for early theoretical speculation of inherently molecular effects in macroscopic turbulence in Tsuge (1974). This specifically suggests that the role of compressive effects ordinarily associated with the shock wave could be significantly muted by the existence of a strongly turbulent local environment. There is also more recent theoretical speculation (Frisch et al. (1984)) of an inherently and previously unsuspected non-dissipative nature to turbulence, with energy conservation being nurtured by reverse energy cascades in the turbulent fluctuation spectra. Furthermore, the role which might be played by fluctuations on quantum mechanical phenomena and variations in molecular parameters is completely unknown, especially of the sort which might be found in optical spectra. A determination of the role which changing turbulent parameters might play on optical signatures behind a reflected shock wave should therefore provide a useful tool for the evolution of theoretical models for turbulence.

Williams, Kyron↗
NASA NTRS1994

Coagulation of grains in static and collapsing protostellar clouds

We simulate collisional evolution of grains in dense turbulent molecular cloud cores (or Bok globules) in static equilibrium and free-fall collapse, assuming spherical symmetry. Relative velocities are due to thermal motions, differential settling, and turbulence, with the latter dominant for sonic turbulence with an assumed Kolmogorov spectrum. Realistic criteria are used to determine outcomes of collisions (coagulation vs. destruction) as functions of particle size and velocity. Results are presented for a variety of cloud parameters (radial density profile, turbulent velocity) and particle properties (density, impact strength). Results are sensitive to the assumed mechanical properties (density and impact strength) of grain aggregates. Particle growth is enhanced if aggregates have low density or fractal structures. On a timescale of a few Myr, an initial population of 0.1 micrometers grains may produce dense compact particles approximately 1 micrometer in size, or fluffy aggregates approximately 100 micrometers. For impact strengths less than or equal to 10(exp 6) ergs/g, a steady state is reached between coagulation of small grains and collisional disruption of larger aggregates. Formation of macroscopic aggregates requires high mechanical strengths and low aggregate densities. We assume sonic turbulence during collapse, with varied eddy size scales determining the dissipation rate or turbulence strength. The degree of collisional evolution during collapse is sensitive to the assumed small-scale structure (inner sc ale) of the turbulence. Weak turbulence results in few collisions and preserves the precollapse particle size distribution with little change. Strong turbulence tends to produce net destruction, rather than particle growth, during infall, unless inpact strengths are greater than 10(exp 6)ergs/g.

Weidenschilling, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Limitations on the upconversion of ion sound to Langmuir turbulence

The weak turbulence theory of Tsytovich, Stenflo and Wilhelmsson (1981) for evaluation of the nonlinear transfer of ion acoustic waves to Langmuir waves is shown to be limited in its region of validity to the level of ion acoustic waves. It is also demonstrated that, in applying the upconversion of ion sound to Langmuir waves for electron acceleration, nonlinear scattering should be self-consistently included, with a suppression of the upconversion process resulting. The impossibility of accelerating electrons by such a process for any reasonable physical system is thereby reaffirmed.

Vlahos, L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Transport Coefficients in weakly compressible turbulence

A theory of transport coefficients in weakly compressible turbulence is derived by applying Yoshizawa's two-scale direct interaction approximation to the compressible equations of motion linearized about a state of incompressible turbulence. The result is a generalization of the eddy viscosity representation of incompressible turbulence. In addition to the usual incompressible eddy viscosity, the calculation generates eddy diffusivities for entropy and pressure, and an effective bulk viscosity acting on the mean flow. The compressible fluctuations also generate an effective turbulent mean pressure and corrections to the speed of sound. Finally, a prediction unique to Yoshizawa's two-scale approximation is that terms containing gradients of incompressible turbulence quantities also appear in the mean flow equations. The form these terms take is described.

Rubinstein, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2007

Coronal Heating, Weak MHD Turbulence, and Scaling Laws

Long-time high-resolution simulations of the dynamics of a coronal loop in Cartesian geometry are carried out, within the framework of reduced magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD), to understand coronal heating driven by the motion of field lines anchored in the photosphere. We unambiguously identify MHD anisotropic turbulence as the physical mechanism responsible for the transport of energy from the large scales, where energy is injected by photospheric motions, to the small scales, where it is dissipated. As the loop parameters vary, different regimes of turbulence develop: strong turbulence is found for weak axial magnetic fields and long loops, leading to Kolmogorov-like spectra in the perpendicular direction, while weaker and weaker regimes (steeper spectral slopes of total energy) are found for strong axial magnetic fields and short loops. As a consequence we predict that the scaling of the heating rate with axial magnetic field intensity B, which depends on the spectral index of total energy for given loop parameters, must vary from B3/2 for weak fields to B2 for strong fields at a given aspect ratio. The predicted heating rate is within the lower range of observed active region and quiet-Sun coronal energy losses.

corona↗