On the origin of spin-up processes in decaying two-dimensional turbulence

Keetels, G.H. and Clercx, H.J.H. and Heijst van, G.J.F. (2010) On the origin of spin-up processes in decaying two-dimensional turbulence. European Journal of Mechanics, B/fluids, 29 (1). pp. 1-8. ISSN 0997-7546

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Abstract:	A remarkable feature of two-dimensional turbulence in a square container with no-slip walls is the spontaneous production of angular momentum due to flow-wall interactions, also known as spontaneous spin-up of the flow. In this paper we address the statistics of spin-up and discuss its likely origin. A signature of the spontaneous production of angular momentum is the development of a large-scale circulation cell. It is found that the global turnover time of the flow guides the spin-up process, which can be considered as a relaxation process of the macroscopic flow to an angular momentum containing state. The high turnover rate of the small-scale vortical structures emerging from the no-slip walls apparently has no significant effect on the spin-up rate. The presented data on the spin-up process strongly suggest that spin-up is not the net result of isolated vortex-wall interactions, with its associated pressure fluctuations on the domain boundaries, alone. The rapid spin-up of the flow clearly suggests the attraction to an angular momentum containing state.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2010 Elsevier
Faculty:	Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS)
Research Group:	Mathematics of Computational Science (MaCS)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/75833
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechflu.2009.06.004
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