2011/01/31 by Dwight Barkley · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.flu-dyn #nlin.CD
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.84.016309
published as Phys. Rev. E 84, 016309 (2011) · 8 pages, 12 figures
arxiv created 2011/05/19 · arxiv updated 2015/03/17
Transitional pipe flow is modeled as a one-dimensional excitable and bistable medium. Models are presented in two variables, turbulence intensity and mean shear, that evolve according to established properties of transitional turbulence. A continuous model captures the essence of the puff-slug transition as a change from excitability to bistability. A discrete model, that additionally incorporates turbulence locally as a chaotic repeller, reproduces almost all large-scale features of transitional pipe flow. In particular it captures metastable localized puffs, puff splitting, slugs, a continuous transition to sustained turbulence via spatiotemporal intermittency (directed percolation), and a subsequent increase in turbulence fraction towards uniform, featureless turbulence.