When a turbulent binary fluid mixture is quenched below its consolute point, turbulent mixing competes with an instability toward phase separation. A linear stability analysis in the viscous-convective range of concentration fluctuations shows that spinodal decomposition can be suppressed entirely by sufficiently strong stirring. An instability reappears, however, for deep quenches, when the injection rate of concentration fluctuations exceeds the rate of turbulent mixing. The growing concentration fluctuations which result appear to be confined to the viscous-convective range.

• Received 24 October 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.29.2012