Effects of Rotation on Turbulence Production

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of non-rotating and rotating turbulent channel flow were conducted. The data base obtained from these DNS simulations was used to investigate the prominent coherent structures involved in the turbulence generation cycle. Predictions from three theoretical models concerning the formation and evolution of sublayer streaks, three-dimensional hairpin vortices and propagating plane waves were validated using visualizations from the present DNS data. Quadrant analysis was used to determine a phase shift between the fluctuating streamwise and wall-normal velocities as a characteristic of turbulence production in the suction region at a low rotation number.