Turbulence in Flowing Soap Films: Velocity, Vorticity, and Thickness Fields

Abstract

We report experimental measurements of the velocity, vorticity, and thickness fields of turbulent flowing soap films using a modified particle-image velocimetry technique. These data yield the turbulent energy and enstrophy of the two-dimensional flows with microscale Reynolds numbers of about 100 and demonstrate the effects of compressibility arising from variations in film thickness. Despite the compressibility of the flow, real-space correlations of velocity, vorticity, and enstrophy flux are consistent with theoretical predictions for two-dimensional turbulence.