On the skin friction due to turbulence in ducts of various shapes

2018 ◽  
Vol 838 ◽  
pp. 369-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Spalart ◽  
A. Garbaruk ◽  
A. Stabnikov
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Skin Friction ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Mathematical Reasoning ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Turbulence Theory ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
Secondary Motion

We consider fully developed turbulence in straight ducts of non-circular cross-sectional shape, for instance a square. A global friction velocity $\overline{u}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}$ is defined from the streamwise pressure gradient $|\text{d}p/\text{d}x|$ and a single characteristic length $h$, half the hydraulic diameter (shapes with disparate length scales, due to high aspect ratio, are excluded). We reason that as the Reynolds number $Re$ reaches high values, outside the viscous region the streamwise velocity differences and the secondary motion scale with $\overline{u}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}$ and the Reynolds stresses with $\overline{u}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}^{2}$. This extends the classical defect-law argument, associated with Townsend and many others, and is successful in channel and pipe flows. We then posit matched asymptotic expansions with overlap of the law of the wall and the behaviour we assumed in the core region. The wall may be smooth, or have a Nikuradse roughness $k_{S}$ (such that it is fully rough, with $k_{S}^{+}\gg 1$). The consequences include the familiar logarithmic behaviour of the velocity profile, but also the surprising prediction that the skin friction tends to uniformity all around the duct, except near possible corners, asymptotically as $Re\rightarrow \infty$ or $k_{S}/h\rightarrow 0$. This is confirmed by numerical solutions for a square and two ellipses, using a conventional turbulence model, albeit the trend with Reynolds number is slow. The magnitude of the secondary motion also scales as expected, and the skin-friction coefficient follows the logarithm of the appropriate Reynolds number. This is a validation of the mathematical reasoning, but is by no means independent physical evidence, because the turbulence models embody the same assumptions as the theory. The uniformity of the skin friction appears to be a new and falsifiable deduction from turbulence theory, and a candidate for high-Reynolds-number experiments.

The law of the wall in turbulent flow

1995 ◽  
Vol 451 (1941) ◽  
pp. 165-188 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Turbulence Theory ◽  
Turbulent Shear ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
Logarithmic Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
Simple Flows

The ‘law of the wall’ for the inner part of a turbulent shear flow over a solid surface is one of the cornerstones of fluid dynamics, and one of the very few pieces of turbulence theory whose results include a simple analytic function for the mean velocity distribution, the logarithmic law. Various aspects of the law have recently been questioned, and this paper is a summary of the present position. Although the law of the wall for velocity has apparently been confirmed by experiment well outside its original range, the law of the wall for temperature seems to apply only to very simple flows. Since the two laws are derived by closely analogous arguments this throws suspicion on the law of the wall for velocity. Analysis of simulation data, for all the Reynolds stresses including the shear stress, shows that law-of-the-wall scaling fails spectacularly in the viscous wall region, even when the logarithmic law is relatively well behaved. Virtually all turbulence models are calibrated to reproduce the law of the wall in simple flows, and we discuss whether, in practice or in principle, their range of validity is larger than that of the law of the wall itself: the present answer is that it is not; so that when the law of the wall (or the mixing-length formula) fails, current Reynolds-averaged turbulence models are likely to fail too.

Flow Characteristics of Transitional Boundary Layers on an Airfoil in Wakes

2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 522-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lee ◽  
S.-H. Kang
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Skin Friction ◽  
Velocity Fluctuation ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Transitional Region ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Measured Velocity

Transition characteristics of a boundary layer on a NACA0012 airfoil are investigated by measuring unsteady velocity using hot wire anemometry. The airfoil is installed in the incoming wake generated by an airfoil aligned in tandem with zero angle of attack. Reynolds number based on the airfoil chord varies from 2.0×105 to 6.0×105; distance between two airfoils varies from 0.25 to 1.0 of the chord length. To measure skin friction coefficient identifying the transition onset and completion, an extended wall law is devised to accommodate transitional flows with pressure gradient and nonuniform inflows. Variations of the skin friction are quite similar to that of the flat plate boundary layer in the uniform turbulent inflow of high intensity. Measured velocity profiles are coincident with families generated by the modified wall law in the range up to y+=40. Turbulence intensity of the incoming wake shifts the onset location of transition upstream. The transitional region becomes longer as the airfoils approach one another and the Reynolds number increases. The mean velocity profile gradually varies from a laminar to logarithmic one during the transition. The maximum values of rms velocity fluctuations are located near y+=15-20. A strong positive skewness of velocity fluctuation is observed at the onset of transition and the overall rms level of velocity fluctuation reaches 3.0–3.5 in wall units. The database obtained will be useful in developing and evaluating turbulence models and computational schemes for transitional boundary layer. [S0098-2202(00)01603-5]

Measurements and prediction of fully developed turbulent flow in an equilateral triangular duct

1978 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. M. Aly ◽  
A. C. Trupp ◽  
A. D. Gerrard
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Wall Shear Stress ◽  
Pipe Flow ◽  
Axial Velocity ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Number Range ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Wall Shear

Fully developed air-flows through an equilateral triangular duct of 12·7 cm sides were investigated over a Reynolds number range of 53 000 to 107 000. Based on equivalent hydraulic diameter, friction factors were found to be about 6% lower than for pipe flow. Mean axial velocity distributions near the wall were describable by the inner law of the wall (when based on local wall shear stress) but the constants differ slightly from those for pipe flow. As expected, the secondary flow pattern was found to consist of six counter-rotating cells bounded by the corner bisectors. Maximum secondary velocities of about 1 ½% of the bulk velocity were observed. The effects of secondary currents were evident in the cross-sectional distributions of mean axial velocity, wall shear stress and Reynolds stresses, and very prominent in the turbulent kinetic energy distribution. For the flow prediction, the vorticity production terms were expressed by modelling the Reynolds stresses in the plane of the cross-section in terms of gradients in the mean axial velocity and a geometrically calculated turbulence length scale. The experimental and predicted characteristics of the flow are shown to be in good agreement.

An Integral Solution for Skin Friction in Turbulent Flow Over Aerodynamically Rough Surfaces With an Arbitrary Pressure Gradient

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Sucec
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Skin Friction ◽  
Integral Form ◽  
Skin Friction Coefficient ◽  
Momentum Equation ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Momentum Thickness ◽  
Local Skin ◽  
Law Of The Wall

The combined law of the wall and wake, with the inclusion of the “roughness depression function” for the inner law in the “Log” region, is used as the inner coordinates' velocity profile in the integral form of the x momentum equation to solve for the local skin friction coefficient. The “equivalent sand grain roughness” concept is employed in the roughness depression function in the solution. Calculations are started at the beginning of roughness on a surface, as opposed to starting them using the measured experimental values at the first data point, when making comparisons of predictions with data sets. The dependence of the velocity wake strength on both pressure gradient and momentum thickness Reynolds number are taken into account. Comparisons of the prediction with experimental skin friction data, from the literature, have been made for some adverse, zero, and favorable (accelerating flows) pressure gradients. Predictions of the shape factor, roughness Reynolds number, and momentum thickness Reynolds number and comparisons with data are also made for some cases. In addition, some comparisons with the predictions of earlier investigators have also been made.

Reynolds-number scaling of the flat-plate turbulent boundary layer

2000 ◽  
Vol 422 ◽  
pp. 319-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID B. DE GRAAFF ◽  
JOHN K. EATON
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Turbulent Boundary Layer ◽  
Flat Plate ◽  
Extensive Study ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
The Mean

Despite extensive study, there remain significant questions about the Reynolds-number scaling of the zero-pressure-gradient flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. While the mean flow is generally accepted to follow the law of the wall, there is little consensus about the scaling of the Reynolds normal stresses, except that there are Reynolds-number effects even very close to the wall. Using a low-speed, high-Reynolds-number facility and a high-resolution laser-Doppler anemometer, we have measured Reynolds stresses for a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer from Reθ = 1430 to 31 000. Profiles of u′2, v′2, and u′v′ show reasonably good collapse with Reynolds number: u′2 in a new scaling, and v′2 and u′v′ in classic inner scaling. The log law provides a reasonably accurate universal profile for the mean velocity in the inner region.

Perspective: Flow at High Reynolds Number and Over Rough Surfaces—Achilles Heel of CFD

1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. C. Patel
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Wall Turbulence ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
High Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Wall Flow ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Near Wall

The law of the wall and related correlations underpin much of current computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, either directly through use of so-called wall functions or indirectly in near-wall turbulence models. The correlations for near-wall flow become crucial in solution of two problems of great practical importance, namely, in prediction of flow at high Reynolds numbers and in modeling the effects of surface roughness. Although the two problems may appear vastly different from a physical point of view, they share common numerical features. Some results from the ’superpipe’ experiment at Princeton University are analyzed along with those of previous experiments on the boundary layer on an axisymmetric body to identify features of near-wall flow at high Reynolds numbers that are useful in modeling. The study is complemented by a review of some computations in simple and complex flows to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of turbulence models used in modern CFD methods. Similarly, principal results of classical experiments on the effects of sand-grain roughness are reviewed, along with various models proposed to account for these effects in numerical solutions. Models that claim to resolve the near-wall flow are applied to the flow in rough-wall pipes and channels to illustrate their power and limitations. The need for further laboratory and numerical experiments is clarified as a result of this study.

The effects of a favourable pressure gradient and of the Reynolds number on an incompressible axisymmetric turbulent boundary layer. Part 1. The turbulent boundary layer

1998 ◽  
Vol 359 ◽  
pp. 329-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. FERNHOLZ ◽  
D. WARNACK
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Shear Stress ◽  
Wall Shear Stress ◽  
Turbulent Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Skin Friction ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
The Mean

The effects of a favourable pressure gradient (K[les ]4×10−6) and of the Reynolds number (862[les ]Reδ2[les ]5800) on the mean and fluctuating quantities of four turbulent boundary layers were studied experimentally and are presented in this paper and a companion paper (Part 2). The measurements consist of extensive hot-wire and skin-friction data. The former comprise mean and fluctuating velocities, their correlations and spectra, the latter wall-shear stress measurements obtained by four different techniques which allow testing of calibrations in both laminar-like and turbulent flows for the first time. The measurements provide complete data sets, obtained in an axisymmetric test section, which can serve as test cases as specified by the 1981 Stanford conference.Two different types of accelerated boundary layers were investigated and are described: in this paper (Part 1) the fully turbulent, accelerated boundary layer (sometimes denoted laminarescent) with approximately local equilibrium between the production and dissipation of the turbulent energy and with relaxation to a zero pressure gradient flow (cases 1 and 3); and in Part 2 the strongly accelerated boundary layer with ‘inactive’ turbulence, laminar-like mean flow behaviour (relaminarized), and reversion to the turbulent state (cases 2 and 4). In all four cases the standard logarithmic law fails but there is no single parametric criterion which denotes the beginning or the end of this breakdown. However, it can be demonstrated that the departure of the mean-velocity profile is accompanied by characteristic changes of turbulent quantities, such as the maxima of the Reynolds stresses or the fluctuating value of the skin friction.The boundary layers described here are maintained in the laminarescent state just up to the beginning of relaminarization and then relaxed to the turbulent state in a zero pressure gradient. The relaxation of the turbulence structure occurs much faster than in an adverse pressure gradient. In the accelerating boundary layer absolute values of the Reynolds stresses remain more or less constant in the outer region of the boundary layer in accordance with the results of Blackwelder & Kovasznay (1972), and rise both in the vincinity of the wall in conjunction with the rising wall shear stress and in the centre region of the boundary layer with the increase of production.

Curved Ducts With Strong Secondary Motion: Velocity Measurements of Developing Laminar and Turbulent Flow

1982 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. K. P. Taylor ◽  
J. H. Whitelaw ◽  
M. Yianneskis
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Hydraulic Diameter ◽  
Radius Ratio ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Flow Development ◽  
Secondary Motion ◽  
Laminar And Turbulent Flow ◽  
Orthogonal Components ◽  
Secondary Velocity

Two orthogonal components of velocity and associated Reynolds stresses have been measured in a square-sectioned, 90 degree bend of 2.3 radius ratio using laser-Doppler velocimetry for Reynolds numbers of 790 and 40,000. The boundary layers at the bend inlet were 0.25 and 0.15 of the hydraulic diameter and resulted in secondary velocity maxima of 0.6 and 0.4 of the bulk flow velocity respectively. Comparison with fully-developed inlet flow shows that the boundary layer thickness is important to the flow development (mainly in the first half of the bend), particularly so when it is reduced to 0.15 of the hydraulic diameter. Turbulent flow in an identical duct with a radius ratio of 7.0 gives rise to smaller secondary velocities than in the strongly curved bend, although their effect is more important to the streamwise flow development because of the smaller pressure gradients. The detail and accuracy of the measurements make them suitable for evaluation of numerical techniques and turbulence models. Partially-parabolic techniques are applicable to the flows studied and their reduced storage requirements seem essential if satisfactory numerical accuracy is to be achieved.

scholarly journals Numerical study of turbulent separation bubbles with varying pressure gradient and Reynolds number

2018 ◽  
Vol 847 ◽  
pp. 28-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. N. Coleman ◽  
C. L. Rumsey ◽  
P. R. Spalart
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Skin Friction ◽  
Eddy Viscosity ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Outer Region ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Momentum Thickness ◽  
Number Range

A family of cases each containing a small separation bubble is treated by direct numerical simulation (DNS), varying two parameters: the severity of the pressure gradients, generated by suction and blowing across the opposite boundary, and the Reynolds number. Each flow contains a well-developed entry region with essentially zero pressure gradient, and all are adjusted to have the same value for the momentum thickness, extrapolated from the entry region to the centre of the separation bubble. Combined with fully defined boundary conditions this will make comparisons with other simulations and turbulence models rigorous; we present results for a set of eight Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence models. Even though the largest Reynolds number is approximately 5.5 times higher than in a similar DNS study we presented in 1997, the models have difficulties matching the DNS skin friction very closely even in the zero pressure gradient, which complicates their assessment. In the rest of the domain, the separation location per se is not particularly difficult to predict, and the most definite disagreement between DNS and models is near reattachment. Curiously, the better models tend to cluster together in their predictions of pressure and skin friction even when they deviate from the DNS, although their eddy-viscosity levels are widely different in the outer region near the bubble (or they do not rely on an eddy viscosity). Stratford’s square-root law is satisfied by the velocity profiles, both at separation and reattachment. The Reynolds-number range covers a factor of two, with the Reynolds number based on the extrapolated momentum thickness equal to approximately 1500 and 3000. This allows tentative estimates of the improvements that even higher values will bring to the model comparisons. The solutions are used to assess models through pressure, skin friction and other measures; the flow fields are also used to produce effective eddy-viscosity targets for the models, thus guiding turbulence-modelling work in each region of the flow.

Measurements and predictions of fully developed turbulent flow in a simulated rod bundle

1982 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 399-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Seale
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Axial Velocity ◽  
Friction Velocity ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Number Range ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
Rod Bundle ◽  
Friction Factors ◽  
Fully Developed Turbulent Flow ◽  
The Mean

Fully developed air flow has been investigated over a Reynolds-number range of 82800-346700 in a duct that simulates two interconnected subchannels of a rod bundle with a pitchldiameter ratio of 1.20. Based on equivalent hydraulic diameter, friction factors were found to be 2% lower than for pipe flow. Detailed measurements were made at a Reynolds number of 200000 of axial velocities, secondary velocities, and the Reynolds stresses. The distribution of axial velocity near the walls (normalized with the local friction velocity) could be expressed by an inner law of the wall for y+ up to 1500. Distributions of the normal Reynolds stresses and the mean turbulence kinetic energy were similar to those observed in a number of pipe and two-dimensional channel flows and could be correlated using the axial-velocity fluct,uations normalized with the local friction velocity. Maximum secondary velocities were about 1.5 % of the bulk axial velocity. The ‘k-ε’ turbulence model and an algebraic vorticity source for generating secondary velocities enabled the computation of axial velocities, secondary velocities, and mean turbulence kinetic energies that are in satisfactory agreement with those measured.

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