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The critical condition for the maintenance of turbulence in stratified flows
Author(s) -
Arya S. P. S.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49709841603
Subject(s) - turbulence , richardson number , buoyancy , mechanics , k epsilon turbulence model , physics , reynolds number , statistical physics , meteorology
Theoretical models for predicting the critical Richardson number for the maintenance of turbulence in a stratified atmosphere are re‐examined in the light of recent observations. It is proposed that the critical condition may first arise from the failure of the maintenance of steady shear in the presence of buoyancy forces. An expression for the critical flux Richardson number is derived from the consideration of the equations of Reynolds stress and turbulent energy. This gives a range of 0.15 – 0.25 for Rfer , in agreement with the results of direct observations.