The Kolmogorov flow provides an ideal instance of a virtual channel flow: It has no boundaries, but it possesses well defined mean flow in each half wavelength. We exploit this remarkable feature for the purpose of investigating the interplay between the mean flow and the turbulent drag of the bulk flow. By means of a set of direct numerical simulations at increasing Reynolds number, we show the dependence of the bulk turbulent drag on the amplitude of the mean flow. Further, we present a detailed analysis of the scale-by-scale energy balance, which describes how kinetic energy is redistributed among different regions of the flow while being transported toward small dissipative scales. Our results allow us to obtain an accurate prediction for the spatial energy transport at large scales.

• Received 13 December 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.023004