Energy transfer in the formation and evolution of energy-containing motions in turbulent boundary layers

Abstract

This paper examines using direct numerical simulation (DNS) the recovery of the energy-containing scales of motion (energy-containing motions) when these are removed at the inflow boundary condition of a flat plate zero-pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer (ZPG-TBL). The energy-containing motions are identified from the spanwise spectral energy density of the interscale turbulent transport. Analysis of the resulting spanwise spectral energy densitiy of velocity and vorticity suggests that near-wall streaks are the initial energy-containing motions formed with quasi-streamwise vortices only developing further downstream. This result is in agreement with the previous study on turbulent channel flows by Kannadasan et al. [1].