A New Approach to Turbulent Transport of a Mean Scalar

Abstract

We develop a simple mean field approach to the transport of a passive scalar for which the fundamental equation is a second order differential equation in the transported quantity, not a first order equation. Triple correlations are included, as they must be for any realistic description of turbulence. No correlation time enters the theory, only an eddy turnover time. The approach is simpler than standard approaches which incorporate triple correlations, but more realistic than Gaussian or short correlation time closures which do not. A similar approach has proven useful in magnetohydrodynamics.