On the shape of resolvent modes in wall-bounded turbulence

Abstract: The resolvent formulation of the Navier$\text{--}$Stokes equations gives a means for the characterization and prediction of features of turbulent flows$\text{---}$such as statistics, structures and their nonlinear interactions$\text{---}$using the singular value decomposition of the resolvent operator based on the appropriate turbulent mean, following the framework developed by McKeon & Sharma (2010). This work will describe a methodology for approximating leading resolvent (i.e., pseudospectral) modes for shear-driven turbulent flows using prescribed analytic functions. We will demonstrate that these functions, which arise from the consideration of wavepacket pseudoeigenmodes of simplified linear operators (Trefethen 2005), in particular give an accurate approximation of the class of nominally wall-detached modes that are centered about the critical layer. Focusing in particular on modeling wall-normal vorticity modes, we present a series of simplifications to the governing equations that result in scalar differential operators that are amenable to such analysis. We demonstrate that the leading wall-normal vorticity response mode for the full Navier$\text{--}$Stokes equations may be accurately approximated by considering a second order scalar operator, equipped with a non-standard inner product. The variation in mode shape as a function of wavenumber and Reynolds number may be captured by evolving a low dimensional differential equation in parameter space. This characterization provides a theoretical framework for understanding the origin of observed structures, and allows for rapid estimation of dominant resolvent mode characteristics without the need for operator discretization or large numerical computations. We relate our findings to classical lift-up and Orr amplification mechanisms in shear-driven flows.