Lagrangian Markovianized field approximation for turbulence

Abstract

In a previous communication (W.J.T. Bos and J.-P. Bertoglio 2006, Phys. Fluids, 18, 031706), a self-consistent Markovian triadic closure was presented. The detailed derivation of this closure is given here, relating it to the Direct Interaction Approximation and Quasi-Normal types of closure. The time-scale needed to obtain a self-consistent closure for both the energy spectrum and the scalar variance spectrum is determined by evaluating the correlation between the velocity and an advected displacement vector-field. The relation between this latter correlation and the velocity–scalar correlation is stressed, suggesting a simplified model of the latter. The resulting closed equations are numerically integrated and results for the energy spectrum, scalar fluctuation spectrum and velocity–displacement correlation spectrum are presented for low, unity and high values of the Schmidt number.