On using extreme values to detect global stability thresholds in multi-stable systems: The case of transitional plane Couette flow

Abstract : Extreme Value Theory (EVT) is exploited to determine the global stability threshold Rg of plane Couette flow - the flow of a viscous fluid in the space between two parallel plates - whose laminar or turbulent behavior depends on the Reynolds number R . Even if the existence of a global stability threshold has been detected in simulations and experiments, its numerical value has not been unequivocally defined. Rg is the value such that for R>Rg, turbulence is sustained, whereas for R