Multi-scale statistics of turbulence motorized by active matter

DOI10.1017/JFM.2017.311MaRDI QIDQ5364825zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors J. Urzay, Amin Doostmohammadi, J. M. Yeomans

Publication date 28 September 2017

Published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.03703

zbMATH Keywords

multiphase and particle-laden flowsturbulent flows

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Direct numerical and large eddy simulation of turbulence (76F65) Suspensions (76T20)

Abstract: A number of micro-scale biological flows are characterized by spatio-temporal chaos. These include dense suspensions of swimming bacteria, microtubule bundles driven by motor proteins, and dividing and migrating confluent layers of cells. A characteristic common to all of these systems is that they are laden with active matter, which transforms free energy in the fluid into kinetic energy. Because of collective effects, the active matter induces multi-scale flow motions that bear strong visual resemblance to turbulence. In this study, multi-scale statistical tools are employed to analyze direct numerical simulations (DNS) of periodic two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) active flows and compare them to classic turbulent flows. Statistical descriptions of the flows and their variations with activity levels are provided in physical and spectral spaces. A scale-dependent intermittency analysis is performed using wavelets. The results demonstrate fundamental differences between active and high-Reynolds number turbulence; for instance, the intermittency is smaller and less energetic in active flows, and the work of the active stress is spectrally exerted near the integral scales and dissipated mostly locally by viscosity, with convection playing a minor role in momentum transport across scales.

Recommendations

• Meso-scale turbulence in living fluids
• New class of turbulence in active fluids
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• Transition from turbulent to coherent flows in confined three-dimensional active fluids
• Stable and unstable flow regimes for active fluids in the periodic setting

Cites work

• Analysis of turbulence in the orthonormal wavelet representation
• Meso-scale turbulence in living fluids
• New class of turbulence in active fluids
• Scale-wise coherent vorticity extraction for conditional statistical modeling of homogeneous isotropic two-dimensional turbulence
• Statistical hydrodynamics of ordered suspensions of self-propelled particles: Waves, giant number fluctuations and instabilities
• Wavelet Methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics

Cited in

(6)

• Meso-scale turbulence in living fluids
• Spatially localized multi-scale energy transfer in turbulent premixed combustion
• Vibration induced by active nematics
• The nature of triad interactions in active turbulence
• Statistical properties of a tangentially driven active filament
• Reference map technique for Lagrangian exploration of coherent structures

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