Abstract
A numerical continuation method has been carried out seeking solutions for two distinct flow configurations, planar Couette flow (PCF) and laterally heated flow in a vertical slot (LHF). We found that the spanwise vortex solution in LHF identifies a new solution in PCF. The vortical structure of our new solution has the shape of a hairpin observed ubiquitously in high-Reynolds-number turbulent flow, and we believe this discovery may provide the paradigm for a hierarchical organization of coherent structures in turbulent shear layers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 114501 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Mar 2009 |
Keywords
- coherent structures
- nonlinearity
- bifurcation
- symmetry breaking
- channel flow