Layer separation of the 3D incompressible Navier–Stokes equation in a bounded domain

Abstract

We provide an unconditional L 2 upper bound for the boundary layer separation of Leray–Hopf solutions in a smooth bounded domain. By layer separation, we mean the discrepancy between a (turbulent) low-viscosity Leray–Hopf solution u ν and a fixed (laminar) regular Euler solution u ¯ with similar initial conditions and body force. We show an asymptotic upper bound C | | u ¯ | | L ∞ 3 T on the layer separation, anomalous dissipation, and the work done by friction. This extends the previous result when the Euler solution is a regular shear in a finite channel. The key estimate is to control the boundary vorticity in a way that does not degenerate in the vanishing viscosity limit.