On the generation of drift flows in wall-bounded flows transiting to turbulence

Abstract: Despite recent progress, laminar-turbulent coexistence in transitional planar wall-bounded shear flows is still not well understood. Contrasting with the processes by which chaotic flow inside turbulent patches is sustained at the local (minimal flow unit) scale, the mechanisms controlling the obliqueness of laminar-turbulent interfaces typically observed all along the coexistence range are still mysterious. An extension of Waleffe's approach [Phys. Fluids 9 (1997) 883--900] is used to show that, already at the local scale, drift flows breaking the problem's spanwise symmetry are generated just by slightly detuning the modes involved in the self-sustainment process. This opens perspectives for theorizing the formation of laminar-turbulent patterns.