Intermittent dynamics in simple models of the turbulent wall layer

We generalise the class of models of the wall layer of Aubry et al. (1988), based on the proper orthogonal decomposition, to permit uncoupled evolution of streamwise and cross-stream disturbances. Since the Reynolds stress in no longer constrained, in the absence of streamwise spatial variations all perturbation velocity components eventually decay to zero. However, their transient behaviour is dominated by 'ghosts' of the non-trivial fixed points and attracting heteroclinic cycles which are characteristic features of those models based on empirical eigenfunctions whose individual velocity components are fixed. This suggests that the intermittent events observed in Aubry et al. do not arise solely because of the effective closure assumption incorporated in those models, but are rooted deeper in the dynamical phenomenon of the wall region.