Generative reconstruction of spatiotemporal Wall-pressure in turbulent boundary layers via patchwise latent diffusion
Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 084607 – Published 13 August, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ln5n-v7db
Abstract
Wall-pressure fluctuations beneath turbulent boundary layers induce structural vibration and acoustic radiation, especially in underwater and aerospace systems. Accurate prediction of their wave number-frequency spectra is critical for effective noise mitigation and design, yet empirical/analytical models rely on simplifying assumptions and miss the full spatiotemporal complexity, while high-fidelity simulations are prohibitive at high Reynolds numbers. Experimental measurements, though accessible, typically provide only pointwise signals and lack the resolution to recover full spatiotemporal fields. We propose a probabilistic generative framework that couples a patchwise (domain-decomposed) conditional neural field with a latent diffusion model to synthesize spatiotemporal wall-pressure fields under varying pressure-gradient conditions. The model conditions on sparse surface-sensor measurements and a low-cost mean-pressure descriptor, supports zero-shot adaptation to new sensor layouts, and produces ensembles with calibrated uncertainty. Validation against reference data shows accurate recovery of instantaneous fields and key statistics.