Phys.org  August 29, 2022 One of the key outstanding questions in fluid turbulence concerns the role of coherent structures that describe frequently observed patterns embedded in turbulence. It has been suggested, but not proved, that coherent structures correspond to unstable, recurrent solutions of the governing equation of fluid dynamics. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have presented experimental and numerical evidence that three-dimensional turbulent flow tracks, episodically but repeatedly, the spatial and temporal structure of multiple such solutions. According to the researchers their results provide compelling evidence that coherent structures, grounded in the governing equations, can be harnessed to predict […]