Dissipation in unsteady turbulence

TL;DR

This paper explains the universal non-equilibrium scaling observed in unsteady turbulent flows by introducing a non-equilibrium correction to Kolmogorov's energy spectrum, providing a foundation for modeling such flows.

Contribution

It introduces a non-equilibrium correction to Kolmogorov's spectrum to explain universal behaviors in unsteady turbulence, advancing theoretical understanding.

Findings

Universal non-equilibrium scaling explained

Non-equilibrium correction to Kolmogorov spectrum proposed

Foundation for modeling unsteady turbulent flows

Abstract

Recent experiments and simulations have shown that unsteady turbulent flows, before reaching a dynamic equilibrium state, display a universal behaviour. We show that the observed universal non-equilibrium scaling can be explained using a non-equilibrium correction of Kolmogorov's energy spectrum. Given the universality of the experimental and numerical observations, the ideas presented here lay the foundation for the modeling of a wide class of unsteady turbulent flows.