Research project: Scalar mixing and turbulent intermittency
The inherent statistical inhomogeneity of free shear flow manifested as intermittent behaviour provides challenges to accurately predicting the mixing process using fully developed turbulence models. The physical interpretation of intermittency can be divided into two parts – internal and external intermittency. The interfacial distinction between turbulent-bearing fluid (e.g. the jet or the boundary layer) and non-turbulent fluid (free stream) is referred as the external intermittency. Internal intermittency refers to local fluctuations of turbulence intensity (the intermittency in an inertial range of a turbulent flow). Both external and internal intermittency can be seen as multiscale spatiotemporal random processes. The intermittent behaviour of turbulent jets is of particular interest since it is influential in many processes of practical relevance, including mixing, combustion, emissions and aero-acoustics.
