Effects of surface tension on immiscible Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence

M. Chertkov, I. Kolokolov, V. Lebedev

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present phenomenology describing the internal structure of a turbulent zone, produced as the result of the push of a heavy fluid into a light one, for the case of immiscible fluids. One finds that the Kolmogorov cascade is realized within a range that grows with time, viz., scales between the mixing zone width, Lt2, and the viscous scale, ηt-14. Surface-tension effects lead to formation of an emulsionlike state. Density fluctuations on scales larger than the typical drop size, l, are governed by the Obukhov-Corrsin cascade. If lη, a wave energy cascade, related to capillary waves propagating along the surfaces of drops, is formed at scales below l, lt-25.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number055301
JournalPhysical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Volume71
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2005
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
  • Statistics and Probability
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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