The Theory Of Homogeneous Turbulence

This is a reissue of Professor Batchelor's text on the theory of turbulent motion, which was first published by Cambridge Unviersity Press in 1953. It continues to be widely referred to in the professional literature of fluid mechanics, but has not been available for several years. This classic account includes an introduction to the study of homogeneous turbulence, including its mathematic representation and kinematics. Linear problems, such as the randomly-perturbed harmonic oscillator and turbulent flow through a wire gauze, are then treated. The author also presents the general dynamics of decay, universal equilibrium theory, and the decay of energy-containing eddies. There is a renewed interest in turbulent motion, which finds applications in atmospheric physics, fluid mechanics, astrophysics, and planetary science.

This book provides state-of-the-art results and theories in homogeneous turbulence, including anisotropy and compressibility effects with extension to quantum turbulence, magneto-hydodynamic turbulence and turbulence in non-newtonian fluids. Each chapter is devoted to a given type of interaction (strain, rotation, shear, etc.), and presents and compares experimental data, numerical results, analysis of the Reynolds stress budget equations and advanced multipoint spectral theories. The role of both linear and non-linear mechanisms is emphasized. The link between the statistical properties and the dynamics of coherent structures is also addressed. Despite its restriction to homogeneous turbulence, the book is of interest to all people working in turbulence, since the basic physical mechanisms which are present in all turbulent flows are explained. The reader will find a unified presentation of the results and a clear presentation of existing controversies. Special attention is given to bridge the results obtained in different research communities. Mathematical tools and advanced physical models are detailed in dedicated chapters.

Fluid turbulence is often referred to as `the unsolved problem of classical physics'. Yet, paradoxically, its mathematical description resembles quantum field theory. The present book addresses the idealised problem posed by homogeneous, isotropic turbulence, in order to concentrate on the fundamental aspects of the general problem. It is written from the perspective of a theoretical physicist, but is designed to be accessible to all researchers in turbulence, both theoretical and experimental, and from all disciplines. The book is in three parts, and begins with a very simple overview of the basic statistical closure problem, along with a summary of current theoretical approaches. This is followed by a precise formulation of the statistical problem, along with a complete set of mathematical tools (as needed in the rest of the book), and a summary of the generally accepted phenomenology of the subject. Part 2 deals with current issues in phenomenology, including the role of Galilean invariance, the physics of energy transfer, and the fundamental problems inherent in numerical simulation. Part 3 deals with renormalization methods, with an emphasis on the taxonomy of the subject, rather than on lengthy mathematical derivations. The book concludes with some discussion of current lines of research and is supplemented by three appendices containing detailed mathematical treatments of the effect of isotropy on correlations, the properties of Gaussian distributions, and the evaluation of coefficients in statistical theories.