Lagrangian statistics in turbulent channel flow

The Lagrangian dispersion of fluid particles in inhomogeneous turbulence is investigated by a direct numerical simulation of turbulent channel flow. Lagrangian velocity and acceleration along a particle trajectory are computed by employing several interpolation schemes. Among the schemes tested, the four-point Hermite interpolation in the homogeneous directions combined with Chebyshev polynomials in the wall-normal direction seems to produce most reliable Lagrangian statistics. Inhomogeneity of Lagrangian statistics in turbulent boundary layer is investigated by releasing many particles at several different wall-normal locations and tracking those particles. The fluid particle dispersion and Lagrangian structure function of velocity are investigated for the Kolmogorov similarity. The behavior of the Lagrangian integral time scales, Kolmogorov constants a(0) and C-0 of the velocity structure function near the wall are discussed. The intermittent behavior of the fluid particle acceleration is also examined by kurtosis of the Lagrangian structure function. Finally, the effect of the initial particle location on the dispersion is analyzed by the probability density function of particle position at several downstream locations. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.