Spectral approach to non-isotropic turbulence subjected to rotation

Abstract

The non-isotropic effects of solid-body rotation on homogeneous turbulence are investigated in this paper. A spectral formalism using eigenmodes introduces the spectral Coriolis effects more easily and leads to simpler expressions for the integral quadratic terms which come mostly from classical two-point closures. The analysis is then applied to a specific eddy damped quasi-normal Markovian model, which includes the inertial waves regime in the evaluation of triple correlations. This procedure allows for a departure from isotropy by external rotation effects. When started with rigorously isotropic initial data, the various trends observed on the Reynolds stresses and the integral lengthscales remain in accordance with the results from direct simulations; moreover they reflect a very specific spectral angular distribution. Such an angular dependence allows a drain of spectral energy from the parallel to the normal wave vectors (with respect to the rotation axis), and thus appears consistent with a trend toward two-dimensionality.