Pipe flow, plane Couette flow and several other shear flows show a transition to turbulence for flow rates where the linear profile is still stable. The turbulent dynamics is transient, so that the transition is related to the formation of a chaotic saddle in the state space of the system. The saddle is supported by exact coherent states and their heteroclinic connections. I will summarize the common features that appear across all these shear flows, sketch the numerical techniques used to identify and track the relevant structures in the state space of the system and point out possible applications beyond fluid mechanics.
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