Transition

Turbulence takes place in most flow situations whethertheyoccur naturally or in technological systems. Therefore, considerable effort is being expended in an attempt to understand the phenomenon of turbulence. The recent discovery ofcoherent structure in turbulent shear flows and the modem developments in computer capabilities have revolutionized research work in turbulence. There is a strong evidence that the coherent structure in turbulent shear flows is reminiscent of nonlinear stability waves. As such, the interest in nonlinear stability waves has increased not only for the understandingofthe latterstages of the laminar-turbulent transition process, but also for understanding the coherent structures in turbulent flows. Also. the advances in computers have made direct numerical simulation possible at Low-Reynolds numbers and large-eddy simulation possible at high Reynolds numbers. This made first-principles prediction of turbulence-generated noise feasible. Therefore, this book aims at presenting a graduate-level introductory study of turbulence while accounting for such recent views of concern to researchers. This book is an outgrowth oflecture notes on the subject offered to graduate students in engineering. The book should be of interest to research engineers and graduatestudents in science and engineering. The theoretical basis presented is sufficient not only for studying the specialized literature on turbulence but also for theoretical investigations on the subject.