Streamwise pseudo-vortical structures and associated vorticity in the near-wall region of a wall-bounded turbulent shear flow

Streamwise pseudo-vortical motions near the wall in a fully-developed two-dimensional turbulent channel flow are clearly visualized in the plane perpendicular to the flow direction by a sophisticated hydrogen-bubble technique. This technique utilizes partially insulated fine wires, which generate hydrogen-bubble clusters at several distances from the wall. These flow visualizations also supply quantitative data on two instantaneous velocity components, ν and w, as well as the streamwise vorticity, ω_x. The vorticity field thus obtained shows quasi-periodicity in the spanwise direction and also a double-layer structure near the wall, both of which are qualitatively in good agreement with a pseudo-vortical motion model of the viscous wall-region.