Role of an isolated eddy near the turbulent/non-turbulent interface layer

A simple analytical description for the effects of a single vortex near a turbulent/ nonturbulent interface (TNTI) layer, based on a Burgers vortex (BV) model, is compared with results from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of shear-free turbulence. The BV model parameters are derived from the DNS data, and the model separates the entrainment as a two-stage process: (i) the strain imposed on the vortex draws non-turbulent fluid toward the irrotational boundary that separates the irrotational from the turbulent region, and afterwards (ii) the velocity associated with the vorticity field moves the entrained fluid toward the turbulent core region. The resulting model is able to predict the enstrophy dynamics, flow streamlines, and flow topology-such as the formation of the teardrop map in the invariants of the velocity gradient tensor-as well as the entrainment velocity. The BV model provides an interesting framework to analyze the small-scale nibbling eddy motions near the TNTI and allows the inclusion of the large-scale flow-dependent effects imposed by the strain rate, while it also links the entrainment characteristics to the eddy structure of the flow near TNTIs.