An Axiomatic Approach to

Turbulence:
Future Problems
 Motivation
We start with an experimental report
summarized by the three plots in Fig.1 .
We take off from this experimental
observation to suggest a proposition,
which we now state:
The failure of the continuum theory
in describing turbulence is signaled by
a singularity in the form: acceleration
of an infinitesimal volume at a point
is –infinity.

4
x 10 1b: N2 dV/dt
0.50.5

00

!0.5
-0.5

(a)
d
/
!1.0
V
-1

-1.5
!1.5

!2.0-2
dV/dt (arb. units)

!2.5
-2.5
0 0.1 0.2 2b: C O20.3
dV/dt 0.4 0.5 0.6

1.0
1000 Time (s )

0 .0 0
.0
!1 -1000
!2
t
.0
-2000

(b)
d
/
.0
!3 -3000
V
d

.0
!4 -4000
.0
!5 -5000

.0
!6 -6000
.0
!7 -7000 0 4 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
x 10 3b: Air dV/dt
Time (s )
0.50.5

00

! 0.5
-0.5

!td1.0-1
/
V
(c)
!d1.5
-1.5

! 2.0-2

! 2.5
-2.5

! 3.0-3 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3
Time (s ) 0.4 0.5 0.6
Time (s)

Fig.1 – Occurrence of transition spikes in efflux experiments in (a) argon, (b) carbon dioxide and (c) air.
Taking the failure of continuum
theory as a given, we now
attempt to re-define turbulence
in our own way.

Proposition I
• A gas is turbulent when the steady-
state solutions of the relevant transport
equation produce a multi-valued
velocity field. Each steady-state
solution will be realized as a snapshot
of the velocity field. Other snapshots
can be produced by other allowed
steady states. In time, the velocity field
changes as transitions occur from one
allowed steady state solution to
another.
Fig. 2 – An example: velocity field inside a toroidal model from the exact solutions
for the steady-state post-Navier Stokes equation proposed by Getreur, Albano and Muriel [10].
The top and bottom panels differ in the probability of kicks σ from the “quantum paddle”
Adopted from Ref. [10], courtesy of Elsevier.

Proposition II
• A gas consisting of ground state
molecules is laminar. A similar gas
consisting of excited molecules is
turbulent. By virtue of the Boltzmann
distribution, a gas will consist of
laminar and turbulent flow. This
proposition is consistent with a lore
orally transmitted by Russian
researchers from Lev Landau, who
suggested that there is always
turbulence in a real gas, it is a matter of
degree.
We will go back to Proposition I later.
In the meantime Proposition II is encapsulated
by a simple diagram below:

Laminar Turbulent

This single Proposition II has

resulted in the following
experimental results:
(1) All critical Reynolds experiments are
species-dependent. For example:
N2
CO2
SF6

3200

3000
Re

2800

2600

0 2 4 6 8
P/Pc
 H2O & D2O
0.08
0.07 Re(H2O) = 3020
0.06 Re(D2O) = 3480
Friction factor

0.05

0.04

0.03 H2O
D2O

0.02
2000 3000 4000
1000
Re

First conclusion from this

hypothesis:
Scale Invariance is dead!
Scale invariance is
usually in the first chapter
of most hydrodynamics
textbooks.
For example:

New Laws and

Phenomena discovered
using the Molecular
Theory of Turbulence
(1) Modification of textbook Law of Partial
Pressures
Law of Partial Pressures
In a mixture of gases, each gas contributes its
own partial pressure. The total pressure is the
sum of all partial pressures
Law of Superposition of Laminar-Turbulent
Transitions
In a mixture of gases, each gas contributes its
own laminar-transition independent of the
other gases (Battat, Dadap, Hinkle, Muriel,
submitted for publication)

(2) New Laws of Critical Pressures

1/ 3 1/ 3
(a) vc1 & '1 # &P #
=$ ! = $$ 1 !!
vc 2 $% ' 2 !" % P2 " (Muriel, Physica A)

1/ 3 4/3
(b) vc1 & '1 # & m2 #
=$ ! $$ !!
vc 2 $% ' 2 !" % m1 " (Muriel, Physica A)
(3) New Scaling Law on Turbulent Efflux

NEW SCALING LAW FOR TURBULENT FLOW

f & P#
=$ !
f %P "
o o

Novapashin, Muriel (unpublished)

New Scaling Law for

Turbulent Flow
n
• Argon 0.602
• Helium 0.690
• Carbon Dioxide 0.569
• Nitrogen 0.587
• Oxygen 0.595
New Principle Enunciated:
The Principle of Limiting Excitation
• In a physical phenomenon that threatens a
runaway situation, the system reacts to reduce
the runaway situation by awakening its internal
degrees of freedom. (Muriel, Physica D)
• This is analogous to Le Chatelier’s Principle
and Lenz Law

(4) Possible Detection of Stealth Plane

Back to Proposition I:
A gas is turbulent when the steady-state
solutions of the relevant transport equation
produces a multi-valued velocity field.
Each steady-state solution will be realized
as a snapshot of the velocity field. Other
snapshots can be produced by other
allowed steady states. In time, the velocity
field changes as transitions occur from one
allowed steady state solution to another.

Examples of transport equations

from which turbulence may
arise:
Navier-Stokes equation
Navier-Stokes Equation: Solve! $1
million Clay Institute, Massachusetts

$u
= #%"u + (u • ! )u + !p = f
$t
Examples of transport equations
from which turbulence may
arise:
Burgers Equation a la Imperio-Esguerra

Examples of transport equations

from which turbulence may
arise:
Solon-Esguerra Equations
 Examples of transport equations
from which turbulence may
arise:
GAM transport equation (Getreur, Albano,
Muriel)

#u 1 #u 2 $!
+ " $u =
#t 2 #x m

Analytic demonstration of turbulence a la Muriel

Examples of transport equations

from which turbulence may
arise:
Jirkovsky-Muriel transport equation

#U i 1 $!
+ U j # jU i + $U i = " # j Pij "
#t % m

Analytic and numerical demonstration of turbulent velocity profile in pipes

 g- & /kt # & k# *
U (z , t ) =
+1 ' exp$$ '
k ,+
( )
!! ' cosh k z + tanh$$ ! sinh k z ( +
! ( )
% . " % 2 " ()
g- & k# * & /kt #
k ,+
( )
+ +cosh k z ' tanh$$ ( )
! sinh k z ( exp$$ '
! !!
% 2 " )( % . "

This is the first result that reproduces real data.

Others:
• Fokker-Planck equation
• Boltzmann equation
• Langevin equation

Next:
• Solis-Esguerra transport equation
 Experimental

In addition to Oldenburg, Trieste and

Novosibisrk, there is now a Hinkle
apparatus in the Chemical Engineering
Department of the College of Engineering
Possibly to do the following:

• Verify old results

• Control the onset of turbulence by sound
• Find new scaling laws of turbulence
• Detect far infra red radiation from
turbulent CO2.
• Possible numerical work: confront
analytic results with numerical results at
the Department of Computer Science in
the College of Engineering