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Cooperativity effects have been proposed to explain the non-local rheology in the dynamics of soft jammed systems. Based on the analysis of the free-energy model proposed by L. Bocquet, A. Colin \& A. Ajdari ({\em Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 103}, 036001 (2009)), we show that cooperativity effects resulting from the non-local nature of the fluidity (inverse viscosity), are intimately related to the emergence of shear-banding configurations. This connection materializes through the onset of inhomogeneous compact solutions (compactons), wherein the fluidity is confined to finite-support subregions of the flow and strictly zero elsewhere. Compactons coexistence with regions of zero fluidity ("non-flowing vacuum") is shown to be stabilized by the presence of mechanical noise, which ultimately shapes up the equilibrium distribution of the fluidity field, the latter acting as an order parameter for the flow-noflow transitions occurring in the material., Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures

We present a detailed review of some of the most recent developments on Eulerian and Lagrangian turbulence in homogeneous and isotropic statistics. In particular, we review phenomenological and numerical results concerning the issue of universality with respect to the large scale forcing and the viscous dissipative physics. We discuss the state-of-the-art of numerical versus experimental comparisons and we discuss the dicotomy between phenomenology based on coherent structures or on statistical approaches. A detailed discussion of finite Reynolds effects is also presented., Comment: based on the talk presented by R. Benzi at DSFD 2-14. postprint version, published online on 6 July 2015 J. Stat. Phys

Plastic rearrangements play a crucial role in the characterization of soft-glassy materials, such as emulsions and foams. Based on numerical simulations of soft-glassy systems, we study the dynamics of plastic rearrangements at the hydrodynamic scales where thermal fluctuations can be neglected. Plastic rearrangements require an energy input, which can be either provided by external sources, or made available through time evolution in the coarsening dynamics, in which the total interfacial area decreases as a consequence of the slow evolution of the dispersed phase from smaller to large droplets/bubbles. We first demonstrate that our hydrodynamic model can quantitatively reproduce such coarsening dynamics. Then, considering periodically oscillating strains, we characterize the number of plastic rearrangements as a function of the external energy-supply, and show that they can be regarded as activated processes induced by a suitable "noise" effect. Here we use the word noise in a broad sense, referring to the internal non-equilibrium dynamics triggered by spatial random heterogeneities and coarsening. Finally, by exploring the interplay between the internal characteristic time-scale of the coarsening dynamics and the external time-scale associated with the imposed oscillating strain, we show that the system exhibits the phenomenon of stochastic resonance, thereby providing further credit to the mechanical activation scenario., Comment: 21 Pages, 9 figures

A systematic study for a single-specie lattice Boltzmann model with frustrated-short range attractive and mid/long-range repulsive-interactions is presented. The equilibrium analysis is performed along the guidelines proposed by [X. Shan, Phys. Rev. E 77, 066702 (2008)] and allows us to determine the surface tension density and the resulting disjoining pressure developing in a thin film when two interfaces overlap. Numerical simulations of confined flows are then performed with a multicomponent model and are successfully tested against the recent suggestion by Bocquet and coworkers on the existence of a cooperative length underlying the non-local rheology of highly confined soft-glassy materials [Goyon et al., Nature 454, 84-87 (2008); Soft Matter 6, 2668-2678 (2010)].

By using fluid-kinetic simulations of confined and concentrated emulsion droplets, we investigate the nature of space non-homogeneity in soft-glassy dynamics and provide quantitative measurements of the statistical features of plastic events in the proximity of the yield-stress threshold. Above the yield stress, our results show the existence of a finite stress correlation scale, which can be mapped directly onto the {\it cooperativity scale}, recently introduced in the literature to capture non-local effects in the soft-glassy dynamics. In this regime, the emergence of a separate boundary (wall) rheology with higher fluidity than the bulk, is highlighted in terms of near-wall spontaneous segregation of plastic events. Near the yield stress, where the cooperative scale cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy, the system shows a clear increase of the stress correlation scale, whereas plastic events exhibit intermittent clustering in time, with no preferential spatial location. A quantitative measurement of the space-time correlation associated with the motion of the interface of the droplets is key to spot the long-range amorphous order at the yield stress threshold.

Based on numerical simulations of a lattice kinetic model for soft-glassy materials, we characterize the global rheology of a dense emulsion-like system, under three representative load conditions: Couette flow, time-oscillating Strain and Kolmogorov flow. It is found that in all cases the rheology is described by a Herschel-Bulkley (HB) relation, $\sigma = {\sigma}_{Y} + A S^{\beta}$, with the yield stress ${\sigma}_{Y}$ largely independent of the loading scenario. A proper rescaling of the HB parameters permits to describe heterogeneous flows with space-dependent stresses, based on the notion of cooperativity, as recently proposed to characterize the degree of non-locality of stress relaxation phenomena in soft-glassy materials., Comment: 6 pages, 12 Figures

Based upon mesoscale simulations of binary mixtures with very low surface tension and positive disjoining pressure (frustration), we measure the correlation length of the stress field within the flowing mixture, as a function of the frequency of the applied load. Two scaling regimes are clearly identified, with a sharp crossover between the liquid and solid regions, with exponent -1/2 and -1, respectively. The crossover correlation length is shown to be closely connected to the typical scale of the coherent excitations of the density field, whose collective dynamics is shown to be responsible for non-trivial rheological effects including the emergence of yield stress., Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors because we are working on a new paper that provides a better description of the same concept

We present a new phase-field model for binary fluids exhibiting typical signatures of self-glassiness, such as long-time relaxation, ageing and long-term dynamical arrest. The present model allows the cost of building an interface to become locally zero, while preserving global positivity of the overall surface tension. An important consequence of this property, which we prove analytically, is the emergence of compact configurations of fluid density. Owing to their finite-size support, these "compactons" can be arbitrarily superposed, thereby providing a direct link between the ruggedness of the free-energy landscape and morphological complexity in configurational space. The analytical picture is supported by numerical simulations of the proposed phase-field equation., Comment: 5 Pages, 6 Figures

We provide a clear evidence that a two species mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann (LB) model with competing short-range attractive and mid-range repulsive interactions supports emergent Herschel-Bulkley (HB) rheology, i.e. a power-law dependence of the shear-stress as a function of the strain rate, beyond a given yield-stress threshold. This kinetic formulation supports a seamless transition from flowing to non-flowing behaviour, through a smooth tuning of the parameters governing the mesoscopic interactions between the two species. The present model may become a valuable computational tool for the investigation of the rheology of soft-glassy materials on scales of experimental interest., Comment: 5 figures

We review the Parisi-Frisch MultiFractal formalism for Navier--Stokes turbulence with particular emphasis on the issue of statistical fluctuations of the dissipative scale. We do it for both Eulerian and Lagrangian Turbulence. We also show new results concerning the application of the formalism to the case of Shell Models for turbulence. The latter case will allow us to discuss the issue of Reynolds number dependence and the role played by vorticity and vortex filaments in real turbulent flows., Comment: Special Issue dedicated to E. Brezin and G. Parisi

A multi-component lattice Boltzmann model recently introduced (R. Benzi et al. Phys. Rev. Lett 102, 026002 (2009)) to describe some dynamical behaviors of soft-flowing materials is theoretically analyzed. Equilibrium and transport properties are derived within the framework of a continuum free-energy formulation, and checked against numerical simulations. Due to the competition between short-range inter-species repulsion and mid-range intra-species attraction, the model is shown to give rise to a very rich configurational dynamics of the density field, exhibiting numerous features of soft-flowing materials, such as long-time relaxation due to caging effects, enhanced viscosity and structural arrest, ageing under moderate shear and shear-thinning flow above a critical shear threshold., Comment: 25 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Journal of chemical physics

We report a detailed study of Eulerian and Lagrangian statistics from high resolution Direct Numerical Simulations of isotropic weakly compressible turbulence. Reynolds number at the Taylor microscale is estimated to be around 600. Eulerian and Lagrangian statistics is evaluated over a huge data set, made by $1856^3$ spatial collocation points and by 16 million particles, followed for about one large-scale eddy turn over time. We present data for Eulerian and Lagrangian Structure functions up to ten order. We analyse the local scaling properties in the inertial range and in the viscous range. Eulerian results show a good superposition with previous data. Lagrangian statistics is different from existing experimental and numerical results, for moments of sixth order and higher. We interpret this in terms of a possible contamination from viscous scale affecting the estimate of the scaling properties in previous studies. We show that a simple bridge relation based on Multifractal theory is able to connect scaling properties of both Eulerian and Lagrangian observables, provided that the small differences between intermittency of transverse and longitudinal Eulerian structure functions are properly considered., Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures

Lattice kinetic equations incorporating the effects of external/internal force fields via a shift of the local fields in the local equilibria, are placed within the framework of continuum kinetic theory. The mathematical treatment reveals that, in order to be consistent with the correct thermo-hydrodynamical description, temperature must also be shifted, besides momentum. New perspectives for the formulation of thermo-hydrodynamic lattice kinetic models of non-ideal fluids are then envisaged. It is also shown that on the lattice, the definition of the macroscopic temperature requires the inclusion of new terms directly related to discrete effects. The theoretical treatment is tested against a controlled case with a non ideal equation of state., Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure

We present a collection of eight data sets, from state-of-the-art experiments and numerical simulations on turbulent velocity statistics along particle trajectories obtained in different flows with Reynolds numbers in the range $R_\lambda \in [120:740]$. Lagrangian structure functions from all data sets are found to collapse onto each other on a wide range of time lags, revealing a universal statistics, and calling for a unified theoretical description. Parisi-Frisch Multifractal theory, suitable extended to the dissipative scales and to the Lagrangian domain, is found to capture intermittency of velocity statistics over the whole three decades of temporal scales here investigated., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; content changed, references updated

The physical behaviour of a class of mesoscopic models for multiphase flows is analyzed in details near interfaces. In particular, an extended pseudo-potential method is developed, which permits to tune the equation of state and surface tension independently of each other. The spurious velocity contributions of this extended model are shown to vanish in the limit of high grid refinement and/or high order isotropy. Higher order schemes to implement self-consistent forcings are rigorously computed for 2d and 3d models. The extended scenario developed in this work clarifies the theoretical foundations of the Shan-Chen methodology for the lattice Boltzmann method and enhances its applicability and flexibility to the simulation of multiphase flows to density ratios up to O(100).

An approach based on a lattice version of the Boltzmann kinetic equation for describing multi-phase flows in nano- and micro-corrugated devices is proposed. We specialize it to describe the wetting/dewetting transition of fluids in presence of nanoscopic grooves etched on the boundaries. This approach permits to retain the essential supra-molecular details of fluid-solid interactions without surrendering -actually boosting- the computational efficiency of continuum methods. The mesoscopic method is first validated quantitatively against Molecular Dynamics (MD) results of Cottin-Bizonne et al. [Nature Mater. 2, 237 (2003)] and then applied to more complex situations which are hardly accessible to MD simulations. The resulting analysis confirms that surface roughness and capillary effects may conspire to promote a counter-intuitive but significant reduction of the flow drag with substantial enhancement in the mass flow rates and slip-lengths in the micrometric range for highly hydrophobic surfaces.

We present a mesoscopic model, based on the Boltzmann Equation, for the interaction between a solid wall and a non-ideal fluid. We present an analytic derivation of the contact angle in terms of the surface tension between the liquid-gas, the liquid-solid and the gas-solid phases. We study the dependency of the contact angle on the two free parameters of the model, which determine the interaction between the fluid and the boundaries, i.e. the equivalent of the wall density and of the wall-fluid potential in Molecular Dynamics studies. We compare the analytical results obtained in the hydrodynamical limit for the density profile and for the surface tension expression with the numerical simulations. We compare also our two-phase approach with some exact results for a pure hydrodynamical incompressible fluid based on Navier-Stokes equations with boundary conditions made up of alternating slip and no-slip strips. Finally, we show how to overcome some theoretical limitations connected with a discretized Boltzmann scheme and we discuss the equivalence between the surface tension defined in terms of the mechanical equilibrium and in terms of the Maxwell construction., Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures

The phenomenon of apparent slip in micro-channel flows is analyzed by means of a two-phase mesoscopic lattice Boltzmann model including non-ideal fluid-fluid and fluid-wall interactins. The weakly-inhomogeneous limit of this model is solved analytically. The present mesoscopic approach permits to access much larger scales than molecular dynamics, and comparable with those attained by continuum methods. However, at variance with the continuum approach, the existence of a gas layer near the wall does not need to be postulated a priori, but emerges naturally from the underlying non-ideal mesoscopic dynamics. It is therefore argued that a mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann approach with non-ideal fluid-fluid and fluid-wall interactions might achieve an optimal compromise between physical realism and computational efficiency for the study of channel micro-flows., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We present a mesoscopic model of the fluid-wall interactions for flows in microchannel geometries. We define a suitable implementation of the boundary conditions for a discrete version of the Boltzmann equations describing a wall-bounded single phase fluid. We distinguish different slippage properties on the surface by introducing a slip function, defining the local degree of slip for mesoscopic molecules at the boundaries. The slip function plays the role of a renormalizing factor which incorporates, with some degree of arbitrariness, the microscopic effects on the mesoscopic description. We discuss the mesoscopic slip properties in terms of slip length, slip velocity, pressure drop reduction (drag reduction), and mass flow rate in microchannels as a function of the degree of slippage and of its spatial distribution and localization, the latter parameter mimicking the degree of roughness of the ultra-hydrophobic material in real experiments. We also discuss the increment of the slip length in the transition regime, i.e. at O(1) Knudsen numbers. Finally, we compare our results with Molecular Dynamics investigations of the dependency of the slip length on the mean channel pressure and local slip properties (Cottin-Bizonne et al. 2004) and with the experimental dependency of the pressure drop reduction on the percentage of hydrophobic material deposited on the surface -- Ou et al. (2004)., Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures

We introduce a model for the turbulent energy cascade aimed at studying the effect of dynamical scaling on intermittency. In particular, we show that by slowing down the energy transfer mechanism for fixed energy flux, intermittency decreases and eventually disappears. This result supports the conjecture that intermittency can be observed only if energy is flowing towards faster and faster scales of motion., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

A lattice Boltzmann scheme simulating the dynamics of shell models of turbulence is developed. The influence of high order kinetic modes (ghosts) on the dissipative properties of turbulence dynamics is studied. It is analytically found that when ghost fields relax on the same time scale as the hydrodynamic ones, their major effect is a net enhancement of the fluid viscosity. The bare fluid viscosity is recovered by letting ghost fields evolve on a much longer time scale. Analytical results are borne out by high-resolution numerical simulations. These simulations indicate that the hydrodynamic manifold is very robust towards large fluctuations of non hydrodynamic fields., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physica D

We employ the full FENE-P model of hydrodynamics of a dilute polymer solutions to derive a theoretical approach to drag reduction in wall bounded turbulence. We recapture the results of a recent simplified theory which derived the universal Maximum Drag Reduction (MDR) asymptote, and complement that theory with a discussion of the cross-over from the MDR to the Newtonian plug when the drag reduction saturates. The FENE-P model gives rise to a rather complex theory due to the interaction of the velocity field with the polymeric conformation tensor, making analytic estimates quite taxing. To overcome this we develop the theory in a computer-assisted manner, checking at each point the analytic estimates by Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of viscoelastic turbulence in a channel., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. submitted to J. Fluid. Mech

A simple model of the effect of polymer concentration on the amount of drag reduction in turbulence is presented, simulated and analyzed. The qualitative phase diagram of drag coefficient vs. Reynolds number (Re) is recaptured in this model, including the theoretically elusive onset of drag reduction and the Maximum Drag Reduction (MDR) asymptote. The Re-dependent drag and the MDR are analytically explained, and the dependence of the amount of drag on material parameters is rationalized.

The turbulent energy cascade in dilute polymers solution is addressed here by considering a direct numerical simulation of homogeneous isotropic turbulence of a FENE-P fluid in a triply periodic box. On the basis of the DNS data, a scale by scale analysis is provided by using the proper extension to visco-elastic fluids of the Karman-Howarth equation for the velocity. For the microstructure, an equation, analogous to the Yaglom equation for scalars, is proposed for the free-energy density associated to the elastic behavior of the material. Two mechanisms of energy removal from the scale of the forcing are identified, namely the classical non-linear transfer term of the standard Navier-Stokes equations and the coupling between macroscopic velocity and microstructure. The latter, on average, drains kinetic energy to feed the dynamics of the microstructure. The cross-over scale between the two corresponding energy fluxes is identified, with the flux associated with the microstructure dominating at small separations to become sub-leading above the cross-over scale, which is the equivalent of the elastic limit scale defined by De Gennes-Tabor on the basis of phenomenological assumptions., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Physics of Fluids

Turbulent shear flows, such as those occurring in the wall region of turbulent boundary layers, manifest a substantial increase of intermittency with respect to isotropic conditions. This suggests a close link between anisotropy and intermittency. However, a rigorous statistical description of anisotropic flows is, in most cases, hampered by the inhomogeneity of the field. This difficulty is absent for the homogeneous shear flow. For this flow the scale by scale budget is discussed here by using the appropriate form of the Karman-Howarth equation, to determine the range of scales where the shear is dominant. The issuing generalization of the four-fifths law is then used as the guideline to extend to shear dominated flows the Kolmogorov-Obhukhov theory of intermittency. The procedure leads naturally to the formulation of generalized structure functions and the description of intermittency thus obtained reduces to the K62 theory for vanishing shear. Also here the intermittency corrections to the scaling exponents are carried by the moments of the coarse grained energy dissipation field. Numerical experiments give indications that the dissipation field is statistically unaffected by the shear, thereby supporting the conjecture that the intermittency corrections are universal. This observation together with the present reformulation of the theory gives reason for the increased intermittency observed in the classical longitudinal velocity increments., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

The Refined Kolmogorov Similarity Hypothesis is a valuable tool for the description of intermittency in isotropic conditions. For flows in presence of a substantial mean shear, the nature of intermittency changes since the process of energy transfer is affected by the turbulent kinetic energy production associated with the Reynolds stresses. In these conditions a new form of refined similarity law has been found able to describe the increased level of intermittency which characterizes shear dominated flows. Ideally a length scale associated with the mean shear separates the two ranges, i.e. the classical Kolmogorov-like inertial range, below, and the shear dominated range, above. However, the data analyzed in previous papers correspond to conditions where the two scaling regimes can only be observed individually. In the present letter we give evidence of the coexistence of the two regimes and support the conjecture that the statistical properties of the dissipation field are practically insensible to the mean shear. This allows for a theoretical prediction of the scaling exponents of structure functions in the shear dominated range based on the known intermittency corrections for isotropic flows. The prediction is found to closely match the available numerical and experimental data., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PRL

Universality of statistical properties of passive quantities advected by turbulent velocity fields at changing the passive forcing mechanism is discussed. In particular, we concentrate on the statistical properties of an hydrodynamic system with pressure. We present theoretical arguments and preliminary numerical results which show that the fluxes of passive vector field and of the velocity field have the same scaling behavior. By exploiting such a property, we propose a way to compute the anomalous exponents of three dimensional turbulent velocity fields. Our findings are in agreement within 5% with experimental values of the anomalous exponents., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

In this paper we discuss the dynamical features of intermittent fluctuations in homogeneous shear flow turbulence. In this flow the energy cascade is strongly modified by the production of turbulent kinetic energy related to the presence of vortical structures induced by the shear. By using direct numerical simulations, we show that the refined Kolmogorov similarity is broken and a new form of similarity is observed, in agreement to previous results obtained in turbulent boundary layers. As a consequence, the intermittency of velocity fluctuations increases with respect to homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. We find here that the statistical properties of the energy dissipation are practically unchanged with respect to homogeneous isotropic conditions, while the increased intermittency is entirely captured in terms of the new similarity law., Comment: 21 pages. 29 figures in 15 jpeg files. Submitted to Phys. Fluids

Methods to quantify predictability properties of atmospheric flows are proposed. The ``Extended Self Similarity'' (ESS) technique, recently employed in turbulence data analysis, is used to characterize predictability properties at short and long times. We apply our methods to the low-order atmospheric model of Lorenz (1980). We also investigate how initialization procedures that eliminate gravity waves from the model dynamics influence predictability properties., Comment: To appear in Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Well defined scaling laws clearly appear in wall bounded turbulence, even very close to the wall, where a distinct violation of the refined Kolmogorov similarity hypothesis (RKSH) occurs together with the simultaneous persistence of scaling laws. A new form of RKSH for the wall region is here proposed in terms of the structure functions of order two which, in physical terms, confirms the prevailing role of the momentum transfer towards the wall in the near wall dynamics., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

Multiscale correlation functions in high Reynolds number experimental turbulence, numerical simulations and synthetic signals are investigated. Fusion Rules predictions as they arise from multiplicative, almost uncorrelated, random processes for the energy cascade are tested. Leading and sub-leading contribution, in the inertial range, can be explained as arising from a multiplicative random process for the energy transfer mechanisms. Two different predictions for correlations involving dissipative observable are also briefly discussed.

In this paper we discuss some theoretical aspects concerning the scaling laws of the Nusselt number versus the Rayleigh number in a Rayleigh-Benard cell. We present a new set of numerical simulations and compare our findings against the predictions of existing models. We then propose a new theory which relies on the hypothesis of Bolgiano scaling. Our approach generalizes the one proposed by Kadanoff, Libchaber and coworkers and solves some of the inconsistencies raised in the recent literature., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We present a study of intermittency in a turbulent channel flow. Scaling exponents of longitudinal streamwise structure functions, $\zeta_p /\zeta_3$, are used as quantitative indicators of intermittency. We find that, near the center of the channel the values of $\zeta_p /\zeta_3$ up to $p=7$ are consistent with the assumption of homogeneous/isotropic turbulence. Moving towards the boundaries, we observe a growth of intermittency which appears to be related to an intensified presence of ordered vortical structures. In fact, the behaviour along the normal-to-wall direction of suitably normalized scaling exponents shows a remarkable correlation with the local strength of the Reynolds stress and with the \rms value of helicity density fluctuations. We argue that the clear transition in the nature of intermittency appearing in the region close to the wall, is related to a new length scale which becomes the relevant one for scaling in high shear flows., Comment: 4 pages, 6 eps figures

The dependence of intermittent inertial properties on ultraviolet eddy viscosity closures is examined within the framework of shell-models of turbulent flows. Inertial intermittent exponents turn out to be fairly independent on the way energy is dissipated at small scales., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

Multiscale correlation functions in high Reynolds number experimental turbulence and synthetic signals are investigated. Fusion Rules predictions as they arise from multiplicative, almost uncorrelated, random processes for the energy cascade are tested. Leading and sub-leading contribution, in both the inertial and viscous ranges, are well captured by assuming a simple multiplicative random process for the energy transfer mechanisms., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRL (3 Dec)

Ultrametric structure of the energy cascade process in a dynamical model of turbulence is studied. The tree model we use can be viewed as an approximated one-dimensional truncation of the wavelets resolved Navier-Stokes dynamics. Varying the tree connectiveness, the appearance of a scaling transition in the two-points moments of energy dissipation is detected, in agreement with experimental turbulent data.

An exact non-perturbative calculation of the fourth-order anomalous correction to the scaling behaviour of a random shell-model for passive scalars is presented. Importance of ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) boundary conditions on the inertial scaling properties are determined. We find that anomalous behaviour is given by the null-space of the inertial operator and we prove strong UV and IR independence of the anomalous exponent. A limiting case where diffusive behaviour can influence inertial properties is also presented., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, revised version

A class of dynamical models of turbulence living on a one-dimensional dyadic-tree structure is introduced and studied. The models are obtained as a natural generalization of the popular GOY shell model of turbulence. These models are found to be chaotic and intermittent. They represent the first example of (1+1)-dimensional dynamical systems possessing non trivial multifractal properties. The dyadic structure allows to study spatial and temporal fluctuations. Energy dissipation statistics and its scaling properties are studied. Refined Kolmogorov Hypothesis is found to hold., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Phys.of Fluids

A class of shell models for turbulent energy transfer at varying the inter-shell separation, $\lambda$, is investigated. Intermittent corrections in the continuous limit of infinitely close shells ($\lambda \rightarrow 1$) have been measured. Although the model becomes, in this limit, non-intermittent, we found universal aspects of the velocity statistics which can be interpreted in the framework of log-poisson distributions, as proposed by She and Waymire (1995, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 262). We suggest that non-universal aspects of intermittency can be adsorbed in the parameters describing statistics and properties of the most singular structure. On the other hand, universal aspects can be found by looking at corrections to the monofractal scaling of the most singular structure. Connections with similar results reported in other shell models investigations and in real turbulent flows are discussed., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures available upon request to elisa@sparc10.unica.it

In this paper we study a new class of shell models, defined in terms of two complex dynamical variables per shell, transporting positive and negative helicity respectively. The dynamical equations are derived from a decomposition into helical modes of the velocity Fourier components of Navier-Stokes equations (F. Waleffe, Phys. Fluids A {\bf 4}, 350 (1992)). This decomposition leads to four different types of shell models, according to the possible non-equivalent combinations of helicities of the three interacting modes in each triad. Free parameters are fixed by imposing the conservation of energy and of a ``generalized helicity'' $H_\alpha$ in the inviscid and unforced limit. For $\alpha=1$ this non-positive invariant looks exactly like helicity in the Fourier-helical decomposition of the Navier-Stokes equations. Long numerical integrations are performed, allowing the computation of the scaling exponents of the velocity increments and energy flux moments. The dependence of the models on the generalized helicity parameter $\alpha$ and on the scale parameter $\lambda$ is also studied. PDEs are finally derived in the limit when the ratio between shells goes to one., Comment: plain Latex, 7 figures available in .ps form upon request at biferale@roma2.infn.it

In this paper we report numerical and experimental results on the scaling properties of the velocity turbulent fields in several flows. The limits of a new form of scaling, named Extended Self Similarity(ESS), are discussed. We show that, when a mean shear is absent, the self scaling exponents are universal and they do not depend on the specific flow (3D homogeneous turbulence, thermal convection , MHD). In contrast, ESS is not observed when a strong shear is present. We propose a generalized version of self scaling which extends down to the smallest resolvable scales even in cases where ESS is not present. This new scaling is checked in several laboratory and numerical experiment. A possible theoretical interpretation is also proposed. A synthetic turbulent signal having most of the properties of a real one has been generated., Comment: 25 pages, plain Latex, figures are available upon request to the authors (struglia@roma2.infn.it, biferale@roma2.infn.it)

Using a code based on the Lattice Boltzmann Equation, we have performed numerical simulations of a turbulent shear flow. We investigate the scaling behaviour of the structure functions in presence of anisotropic homogeneous turbulence, and we show that although Extended Self Similarity does not hold when strong shear effects are present, a more generalized scaling law can still be defined., Comment: Plain latex, 4 figures avalaible upon request to struglia@roma2.infn.it, solved problems with some latex version

We discuss a possible theoretical interpretation of the self scaling property of turbulent flows (Extended Self Similarity). Our interpretation predicts that, even in cases when ESS is not observed, a generalized self scaling, must be observed. This prediction is checked on a number of laboratory experiments and direct numerical simulations., Comment: Plain Latex, 1 figure available upon request to biferale@roma2.infn.it

In this letter we present numerical and experimental results on the scaling properties of velocity turbulent fields in the range of scales where viscous effects are acting. A generalized version of Extended Self Similarity capable of describing scaling laws of the velocity structure functions down to the smallest resolvable scales is introduced. Our findings suggest the absence of any sharp viscous cutoff in the intermittent transfer of energy., Comment: 10 pages, plain Latex, 6 figures available upon request to biferale@roma2.infn.it

It is shown that the Lattice Boltzmann equation for hydrodynamics can be extended in such a way as to describe non-relativistic quantum mechanics., Comment: IBM text-proc format