- Mean flow
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In fluid dynamics, the fluid flow is often decomposed into a mean flow – and deviations from the mean. The averaging can be done either in space or in time.
In the atmospheric sciences, the mean flow is taken to be the purely zonal flow of the atmosphere which is driven by the temperature contrast between equator and the poles.
Example
Calculation of the mean flow may often be as simple as the mathematical mean: simply add up the given flow rates and then divide the final figure by the number of initial readings.
For example: given two discharges (Q) 3 m³/s and 5 m³/s. We can use these flow rates Q to calculate the mean flow rate Qmean. Which in this case is Qmean = 4 m³/s.
References
- Craik, Alex D. D. (1988), Wave interactions and fluid flows, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521368294
- Tennekes, Hendrik; Lumley, John L. (1972), A first course in turbulence, MIT Press, ISBN 0262200198
Categories:- Fluid dynamics stubs
- Fluid dynamics
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