Turbulence in Flowing Soap Films: Velocity, Vorticity, and Thickness Fields

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1998 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.1417· OSTI ID:641548

Rivera, M; Vorobieff, P; Ecke, R E ^[1]

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1. Condensed Matter Thermal Physics Group and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

We report experimental measurements of the velocity, vorticity, and thickness fields of turbulent flowing soap films using a modified particle-image velocimetry technique. These data yield the turbulent energy and enstrophy of the two-dimensional flows with microscale Reynolds numbers of about 100 and demonstrate the effects of compressibility arising from variations in film thickness. Despite the compressibility of the flow, real-space correlations of velocity, vorticity, and enstrophy flux are consistent with theoretical predictions for two-dimensional turbulence. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society }

• OSTI ID: 641548
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 81, Issue 7; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1998
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
SOAPS
FILMS
VELOCITY
TURBULENCE
VORTICES
THICKNESS
SCALING
ENERGY SPECTRA
COMPRESSIBILITY
NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS
FLUCTUATIONS