Chaotic mixing in plane Couette turbulence

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex Lagrangian trajectories of passive scalars in plane Couette turbulence, revealing diverse motion types and topological structures that influence mixing and transport in three-dimensional Navier-Stokes flows.

Contribution

It introduces a topological analysis of invariant solutions in plane Couette flow, linking stagnation points and invariant tori to turbulent mixing mechanisms.

Findings

Identification of stagnation points and their stability properties

Discovery of heteroclinic connections shaping flow topology

Insights into how topological features influence chaotic mixing

Abstract

Lagrangian tracer particle trajectories for invariant solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations confined to the three-dimensional geometry of plane Couette flow are studied. Treating the Eulerian velocity field of an invariant solution as a dynamical system, the transport of these passive scalars along Lagrangian flow trajectories reveals a rich repertoire of different types of motion that can occur, including stagnation points, for which there is no fluid movement, and invariant tori, which obstruct chaotic mixing across the full volume of the plane Couette flow minimal cell. We determine the stability of these stagnation points, along with their stable and unstable manifolds, and find heteroclinic connections between them. These topological features produce a skeleton that shapes the passive tracer flow for a turbulent fluid, providing a first step to elucidating Lagrangian particle transport and mixing in three-dimensional Navier-Stokes turbulent flows.