Identification and characterization of three‐dimensional turbulent flow structures

Many phenomena in chemical processes for example fast mixing, coalescence and break‐up of bubbles and drops are not correctly described using average turbulence properties as the outcome is governed by the interaction with individual vortices. In this study, an efficient vortex‐tracking algorithm has been developed to identify thousands of vortices and quantify properties of the individual vortices. The traditional algorithms identifying vortex‐cores only capture a fraction of the total turbulent kinetic energy, which is often not sufficient for modeling of coalescence and break‐up phenomena. In the present algorithm, turbulent vortex‐cores are identified using normalized Q‐criterion, and allowed to grow using morphological methods. The growth is constrained by estimating the influence from all neighboring vortices using the Biot‐Sawart law. This new algorithm allows 82% of the total turbulent kinetic to be captured, at the same time the individual vortices can be tracked in time. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 1265–1277, 2016