Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
An investigation into the existence of hairpin vortices in turbulent channel flow is conducted using a database generated by the large-eddy simulation technique. It is shown that away from the wall the distribution of the inclination angle of vorticity vector gains its maximum at about 45° to the wall. Two-point correlations of velocity and vorticity fluctuations strongly support a flow model consisting of vortical structures inclined at 45° to the wall. The instantaneous vorticity vectors plotted in planes inclined at 45° show that the flow contains an appreciable number of hairpins. Vortex lines are used to display the three-dimensional structure of hairpins, which are shown to be generated from deformation (or roll-up) of sheets of transverse vorticity.
Moin et al. (Sat,) studied this question.