  Breakup of small aggregates in fully developed turbulence is studied by means
of direct numerical simulations in a series of typical bounded and unbounded
flow configurations, such as a turbulent channel flow, a developing boundary
layer and homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The simplest criterion for breakup
is adopted, whereas aggregate breakup occurs when the local hydrodynamic stress
$\sigma\sim \varepsilon^{1/2}$, with $\varepsilon$ being the energy dissipation
at the position of the aggregate, overcomes a given threshold
$\sigma_\mathrm{cr}$, which is characteristic for a given type of aggregates.
Results show that the breakup rate decreases with increasing threshold. For
small thresholds, it develops a universal scaling among the different flows.
For high thresholds, the breakup rates show strong differences between the
different flow configurations, highlighting the importance of non-universal
mean-flow properties. To further assess the effects of flow inhomogeneity and
turbulent fluctuations, theresults are compared with those obtained in a smooth
stochastic flow. Furthermore, we discuss the limitations and applicability of a
set of independent proxies.
