Kolmogorov Microscales: See Also

Kolmogorov microscales are the smallest scales in turbulent flow where viscosity dominates and kinetic energy is dissipated. They are defined by Kolmogorov length, time, and velocity scales which depend on the rate of dissipation of turbulence kinetic energy and kinematic viscosity. Kolmogorov introduced the idea that the smallest scales are universal and depend only on these factors.

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Kolmogorov Microscales: See Also

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Kolmogorov microscales

Kolmogorov microscales are the smallest scales in turbulent flow. At the Kolmogorov scale, viscosity
dominates and the turbulent kinetic energy is dissipated into heat. They are defined[1] by

Kolmogorov length scale

Kolmogorov time scale

Kolmogorov velocity scale

where is the average rate of dissipation of turbulence kinetic energy per unit mass, and is the kinematic
viscosity of the fluid. Typical values of the Kolmogorov length scale, for atmospheric motion in which the
large eddies have length scales on the order of kilometers, range from 0.1 to 10 millimeters; for smaller flows
such as in laboratory systems, may be much smaller.[2]

In his 1941 theory, Andrey Kolmogorov introduced the idea that the smallest scales of turbulence are universal
(similar for every turbulent flow) and that they depend only on and . The definitions of the Kolmogorov
microscales can be obtained using this idea and dimensional analysis. Since the dimension of kinematic
viscosity is length2 /time, and the dimension of the energy dissipation rate per unit mass is length2 /time3 , the
only combination that has the dimension of time is which is the Kolmorogov time scale.
Similarly, the Kolmogorov length scale is the only combination of and that has dimension of length.

Alternatively, the definition of the Kolmogorov time scale can be obtained from the inverse of the mean square
strain rate tensor, which also gives using the definition of the energy
dissipation rate per unit mass . Then the Kolmogorov length scale can be obtained as the
scale at which the Reynolds number is equal to 1, .

The Kolmogorov 1941 theory is a mean field theory since it assumes that the relevant dynamical parameter is
the mean energy dissipation rate. In fluid turbulence, the energy dissipation rate fluctuates in space and time, so
it is possible to think of the microscales as quantities that also vary in space and time. However, standard
practice is to use mean field values since they represent the typical values of the smallest scales in a given flow.

See also
Taylor microscale
Integral length scale
Batchelor scale

References
1. M. T. Landahl; E. Mollo-Christensen (1992). Turbulence and Random Processes in Fluid
Mechanics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0521422130.
2. George, William K. "Lectures in Turbulence for the 21st Century." Department of Thermo and
Fluid Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden (2005).p 64 [online]
http://www.turbulence-
online.com/Publications/Lecture_Notes/Turbulence_Lille/TB_16January2013.pdf

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