INVESTIGATING LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURES IN TURBULENT MIXING LAYERS USING TWO-POINT CORRELATION

Abstract

The formation and development of large-scale structures are primary research subjects in the study of turbulent mixing layers. Visualizing these structures based on published experimental data enhances the understanding of complex flow behaviors, which is the main objective of this article. The authors employed a two-point statistical correlation method to evaluate the size of large vortex structures along the interaction region. Additionally, the article provides a guide for analyzing the turbulent energy spectrum at selected fixed points. The calculations were performed using MATLAB software. The results indicate that at the beginning of the mixing layer, the vortices are small and highly anisotropic, with large-scale structures stretching in irregular directions. Further downstream, the vortices increase in size in all directions, and the degree of anisotropy decreases. In the self-similar region, isotropic states are almost achieved. The energy spectrum analysis findings align with Kolmogorov's theory of energy cascade in turbulent flow. The two-point statistical correlation method proves to be highly effective for analyzing structures within turbulent flows.