Experimental investigation of the structure of large- and very-large-scale motions in turbulent pipe flow

Multi-point velocity measurements have been performed in turbulent pipe flow at Re-D = 1.5 x 10(5) and combined with cross-spectral and proper orthogonal decomposition analysis to elucidate information on the structure of the large- and very-large-scale motions in the outer layer of wall-bounded flows. The results indicate that in the outer layer the large-scale motions (LSM) may be composed of detached eddies with a wide range of azimuthal scales, whereas in the logarithmic layer they are attached. The very-large-scale motions (VLSM) have large radial scales, are concentrated around a single azimuthal mode and make a smaller angle with the wall compared to the LSM. The results support a hypothesis that only the detached LSM in the outer layer align to form the VLSM.