Correlation Dimension of Inertial Particles in Random Flows

Abstract

We obtain an implicit equation for the correlation dimension of dynamical systems in terms of an integral over a propagator. We illustrate the utility of this approach by evaluating the correlation dimension for inertial particles suspended in a random flow. In the limit where the correlation time of the flow field approaches zero, taking the short-time limit of the propagator enables the correlation dimension to be determined from the solution of a partial differential equation. We develop the solution as a power series in a dimensionless parameter which represents the strength of inertial effects.