How does turbulence spread in plane Couette flows?

TL;DR

This study uses direct numerical simulation and experiments to analyze how turbulence spreads in plane Couette flows, revealing both local and global mechanisms of turbulent spot growth.

Contribution

It identifies and distinguishes between local tip growth and large-scale advection as mechanisms driving turbulence spread in plane Couette flows.

Findings

Turbulent spots grow via local tip mechanisms.

Large-scale advection significantly contributes to spot expansion.

Velocity measurements of spot fronts and vortices support dual growth mechanisms.

Abstract

We investigate the growth in the spanwise direction of turbulent spots invading a laminar flow in a plane Couette flow. Direct Numerical Simulation is used to track the nucleation of streaks during the spot growth. Experiment and direct numerical simulation allow us to study the velocity of the spot fronts and of the vortices observed at the spots' edges. All these results show that two mechanisms are involved when turbulent spots grow: a formerly proposed local growth occurring at the spot spanwise tips but also in comparable proportion a global growth induced by large-scale advection identified in the present work.