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Statistical fluctuations due to microscale mixing in a diffusion layer
Author(s) -
Zimmerman William B.,
Chatwin P. C.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
environmetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-095X
pISSN - 1180-4009
DOI - 10.1002/env.3170060614
Subject(s) - scalar (mathematics) , kurtosis , statistical physics , turbulent diffusion , mixing (physics) , skewness , physics , diffusion , turbulence , molecular diffusion , dispersion (optics) , plot (graphics) , microscale chemistry , quadratic equation , mechanics , mathematics , classical mechanics , statistics , thermodynamics , geometry , quantum mechanics , metric (unit) , operations management , mathematics education , economics
A new viewpoint on the evolution of scalar dispersion in a turbulent flow is taken by considering diffusion of a passive scalar where the measuring device is stochastically positioned. This is a model of a dispersion process where mixing at small scales occurs by molecular diffusion and large scale motions are rigid in regards to the internal cloud structure. Numerical results for the first four central moments are presented, and are shown to be consistent with theoretical approximations for both small and large times. The plot of kurtosis against skewness collapses onto a quadratic curve close to those discussed by Mole and Clarke, and others. The present work suggests that this robust feature has a rather simple basis in physics, and further research is proposed that will critically test this interpretation.