Self-sustaining turbulence in a restricted nonlinear model of plane Couette flow

Abstract: This paper demonstrates the maintenance of self-sustaining turbulence in a restricted nonlinear (RNL) model of plane Couette flow. The RNL system is derived directly from the Navier Stokes equations and permits computationally tractable studies of the dynamical system obtained using stochastic structural stability theory (S3T), which is a second order approximation of the statistical state dynamics of the flow. The RNL model shares the dynamical restrictions of the S3T model but can be easily implemented through reducing a DNS code to the equations governing the RNL system. Comparisons of turbulence arising from DNS and RNL simulations demonstrate that the RNL system supports self-sustaining turbulence with a mean flow as well as structural and dynamical features that are consistent with DNS. These results demonstrate that the simplified RNL/S3T system captures fundamental aspects of fully developed turbulence in wall-bounded shear flows and motivates use of the RNL/S3T system for further study of wall turbulence.