A review on turbulent and vortical flow analyses via complex networks

Abstract

Turbulent and vortical flows are ubiquitous and their characterization is crucial for the understanding of several natural and industrial processes. Among different techniques to study spatio-temporal flow fields, complex networks represent a recent and promising tool to deal with the large amount of data on turbulent flows and shed light on their physical mechanisms. The aim of this review is to bring together the main findings achieved so far from the application of network-based techniques to study turbulent and vortical flows. A critical discussion on the potentialities and limitations of the network approach is provided, thus giving an ordered portray of the current diversified literature. The present review can boost future network-based research on turbulent and vortical flows, promoting the establishment of complex networks as a widespread tool for turbulence analysis.