Hybrid spectral-particle method for the turbulent transport of a passive scalar

Abstract

This paper describes a novel hybrid method, combining a spectral and a particle method, to simulate the turbulent transport of a passive scalar. The method is studied from the point of view of accuracy and numerical cost. It leads to a significative speed up over more conventional grid-based methods and allows to address challenging Schmidt numbers. In particular, theoretical predictions of universal scaling in forced homogeneous turbulence are recovered for a wide range of Schmidt numbers for large, intermediate and small scales of the scalar.