Generalizable super-resolution turbulence reconstruction from minimal training data

Fully resolving turbulent flows remains challenging due to a turbulent systems’ multiscale complexity. Existing data-driven approaches typically demand expensive retraining for each flow scenario and struggle to generalize beyond their training conditions. Leveraging the universality of small-scale turbulent motions (Kolmogorov’s K41 theory), we propose a scale-oriented zonal generative adversarial network (SoZoGAN) framework for high-fidelity, zero-shot turbulence generation across diverse domains. Unlike conventional methods, SoZoGAN is trained exclusively on a single dataset of moderate-Reynolds-number homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT). The framework employs a zonal decomposition strategy, partitioning turbulent snapshots into subdomains based on scale-sensitive physical quantities. Within each subdomain, turbulence is synthesized using scale-indexed models pretrained solely on the HIT database. A SoZoGAN demonstrates high accuracy, cross-domain generalizability and robustness in zero-shot super-resolution of unsteady flows, as validated on untrained HIT, turbulent boundary layer and channel flow. Its strong generalization, demonstrated for homogeneous and inhomogeneous turbulence cases, suggests potential applicability to a wider range of industrial and natural turbulent flows. The scale-oriented zonal framework is architecture-agnostic, readily extending beyond generative adversarial networks to other deep learning models.