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The Large Scale Organization of Turbulent Channels

We have investigated the organization and dynamics of the large turbulent structures that develop in the logarithmic and outer layers of high-Reynolds-number wall flows. These structures have sizes comparable to the flow thickness and contain most of the turbulent kinetic energy. They produce a substantial fraction of the skin friction and play a key role in turbulent transport. In spite of their significance, there is much less information about the large structures far from the wall than about the small ones of the near-wall region. The main reason for this is the joint requirements of large measurement records and high Reynolds numbers for their experimental analysis. Their theoretical analysis has been hampered by the lack of succesful models for their interaction with the background small-scale turbulence.