Spatial features of Reynolds-stress carrying structures in turbulent boundary layers with pressure gradient

We investigate the Reynolds-shear-stress carrying structures in the outer layer of non-equilibrium pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers using four direct numerical simulation databases, two cases of non-equilibrium pressure-gradient boundary layers and two of homogeneous shear turbulence. We examine and compare the spatial organization and shapes of the Reynolds-shear-stress structures, specifically sweeps and ejections, across all cases. The analysis includes five streamwise locations in the boundary layers, varying in pressure-gradient sign, intensity, and upstream history. For the boundary layers, two types of three-dimensional velocity fields are considered: fully spatial fields and spatio-temporal fields using Taylor's frozen turbulence hypothesis. Comparisons of the results indicate that the statistics of sweep and ejection shapes are sensitive to the choice of convection velocity in Taylor's hypothesis. The sweep and ejection shapes are consistent across all flows when their sizes range from 1 to 10 Corrsin length scales, suggesting that mean shear plays a similar role in all cases, driving the formation of Reynolds-shear-stress carrying structures and contributing to turbulence production. Sweeps and ejections of different types form side-by-side pairs, while structures of the same type align in an upstream–downstream configuration. This behavior persists regardless of pressure gradient variations or upstream history, emphasizing the dominant influence of local mean shear.