Origin of turbulence-producing eddies in a channel flow

A principal theoretical problem in understanding wall turbulence is the determination of how turbulence is created and sustained, i.e., the explanation of how energy is transferred from the mean flow to the turbulence. Flow-oriented vortical eddies have been associated with large Reynolds stresses and with the production of turbulence in the viscous region close to the wall. Their creation and evolution are investigated in a high-resolution direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow in a channel. An important finding is that they regenerate themselves by a process that appears to be weakly dependent on the outer flow. This involves the enhancement of streamwise vorticity at the wall, of opposite sign, at a location where a stress-producing eddy lifts from the wall.