Observation of wave turbulence in vibrating plates

TL;DR

This paper reports experimental observation of wave turbulence in vibrating plates, revealing power-law spectra inconsistent with existing weak turbulence theory and suggesting alternative mechanisms like wave breaking.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of wave turbulence in vibrating plates and challenges current theoretical models with new spectral observations.

Findings

Power-law frequency spectra observed in vibrating plates

Spectra incompatible with weak turbulence theory

No intermittent behavior in velocity statistics

Abstract

The nonlinear interaction of waves in a driven medium may lead to wave turbulence, a state such that energy is transferred from large to small lengthscales. Here, wave turbulence is observed in experiments on a vibrating plate. The frequency power spectra of the normal velocity of the plate may be rescaled on a single curve, with power-law behaviors that are incompatible with the weak turbulence theory of D{\"u}ring et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 025503 (2006)]. Alternative scenarios are suggested to account for this discrepancy -- in particular the occurrence of wave breaking at high frequencies. Finally, the statistics of velocity increments do not display an intermittent behavior.