Origin of Turbulence: Energy Gradient Theory

This book presents the new discovery of the origin of turbulence from Navier–Stokes equations. The fully developed turbulence is found to be composed of singularities of flow field. The mechanisms of flow stability and turbulent transition are described using the energy gradient theory, which states all the flow instability and breakdown resulted from the gradient of the total mechanical energy normal to the flow direction. This approach is universal for flow instability in Newtonian flow and non-Newtonian flow. The theory has been used to solve several problems, such as plane and pipe Poiseuille flows, plane Couette flow, Taylor–Couette flow, flows in straight coaxial annulus, flows in curved pipes and ducts, thermal convection flow, viscoelastic flow, and magnet fluid flow, etc. The theory is in agreement with results from numerical simulations and experiments. The analytical method used in this book is novel and is different from the traditional approaches. This book includes the fundamental basics of flow stability and turbulent transition, the essentials of the energy gradient theory, and the applications of the theory to several practical problems. This book is suitable for researchers and graduate students.