The Determination of Turbulent Skin Friction by Means of Pitot Tubes

1954 ◽  
Vol 58 (518) ◽  
pp. 109-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Preston

SummaryA simple method of determining local turbulent skin friction on a smooth surface has been developed which utilises a round pitot tube resting on the surface. Assuming the existence of a region near the surface in which conditions are functions only of the skin friction, the relevant physical constants of the fluid and a suitable length, a universal non-dimensional relation is obtained for the difference between the total pressure recorded by the tube and the static pressure at the wall, in terms of the skin friction. This relation, on this assumption, is independent of the pressure gradient. The truth and form of the relation were first established, to a considerable degree of accuracy, in a pipe using four geometrically similar round pitot tubes—the diameter being taken as representative length. These four pitot tubes were then used to determine the local skin friction coefficient at three stations on a wind tunnel wall, under varying conditions of pressure gradient. At each station, within the limits of experimental accuracy, the deduced skin friction coefficient was found to be the same for each pitot tube, thus confirming the basic assumption and leaving little doubt as to the correctness of the skin friction so found. Pitot traverses were then made in the pipe and in the boundary layer on the wind tunnel wall. The results were plotted in two non-dimensional forms on the basis already suggested and they fell close together in a region whose outer limit represented the breakdown of the basic assumption, but close to the wall the results spread out, due to the unknown displacement of the effective centre of a pitot tube near a wall. This again provides further evidence of the existence of a region of local dynamical similarity and of the correctness of the skin friction deduced from measurements with round pitot tubes on the wind tunnel wall. The extent of the region in which the local dynamical similarity may be expected to hold appears to vary from about 1/5 to 1/20 of the boundary-layer thickness for conditions remote from, and close to, separation respectively.

Author(s):  
Pranav Joshi ◽  
Joseph Katz

The goal of this research is to study the effect of favorable pressure gradient (FPG) on the near wall structures of a turbulent boundary layer on a smooth wall. 2D-PIV measurements have been performed in a sink flow, initially at a coarse resolution, to characterize the development of the mean flow and (under resolved) Reynolds stresses. Lack of self-similarity of mean velocity profiles shows that the boundary layer does not attain the sink flow equilibrium. In the initial phase of acceleration, the acceleration parameter, K = v/U2dU/dx, increases from zero to 0.575×10−6, skin friction coefficient decreases and mean velocity profiles show a log region, but lack universality. Further downstream, K remains constant, skin friction coefficient increases and the mean velocity profiles show a second log region away from the wall. In the initial part of the FPG region, all the Reynolds stress components decrease over the entire boundary layer. In the latter phase, they continue to decrease in the middle of the boundary layer, and increase significantly close to the wall (below y∼0.15δ), where they collapse when normalized with the local freestream velocity. Turbulence production and wallnormal transport, scaled with outer units, show self-similar profiles close to the wall in the constant K region. Spanwise-streamwise plane data shows evidence of low speed streaks in the log layer, with widths scaling with the boundary layer thickness.


Author(s):  
V. Ravikumar ◽  
M.C. Raju ◽  
G.S.S. Raju

The problem of unsteady, two-dimensional, laminar, boundary-layer flow of a viscous, incompressible, electrically conducting and heat-absorbing Rivlin-Ericksen flow fluid along a semi-infinite vertical permeable moving plate has been investigated. A uniform transverse magnetic field is applied in the direction of the flow. The presence of thermal and concentration buoyancy effects is considered. The plate is assumed to move with a constant velocity in the direction of fluid flow while the free stream velocity is assumed to follow the exponentially increasing small perturbation law. Time-dependent wall suction is assumed to occur at the permeable surface. The dimensionless governing equations for this investigation are solved analytically using two-term harmonic and non-harmonic functions. Numerical evaluation of the analytical results is performed and some graphical results for the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions within the boundary layer are presented. Skin-friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are also discussed with the help of the graphs. Local skin-friction coefficient increases with an increase in the permeability parameter, and Soret number whereas reverse effects is seen in the case of dimensionless viscoelasticity parameter of the Rivlin-Ericksen fluid. Nusselt number decreases in the presence of heat absorption. The presence of Soret number Sherwood number increases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Vladimir Kornilov ◽  
Andrey Boiko ◽  
Ivan Kavun ◽  
Anatoliy Popkov

A generalized analysis of the results of numerical and experimental studies of air blowing into a turbulent boundary layer through finely perforated surface consisting of alternating permeable and impermeable sections of varying length providing a sudden change in the flow conditions at the boundaries of these sections is presented. The air blowing coefficient Cb determined by the mass flow rate per unit area of the active perforated sample varied in the range from 0 to 0.008. It is shown that as Cb grows, the maximum reduction in the mean surface skin-friction coefficient CF, which is the value through the permeable area of perforated sample, reaches about 65 %. When keeping the equal mass flow rate Q for all tested combinations, the mean skin-friction coefficient remains constant, independent of geometrical parameters of permeable and impermeable sections. Increasing the length of the last permeable section leads to the growth of relaxation region which is characterized by the reduced skin friction values on the impermeable part of the flat plate.


Author(s):  
Takashi Kodama ◽  
Shinsuke Mochizuki

New optical method for measurement of the local wall shear stress has been developed by using thermo-chromic liquid crystal temperature measurement based on hue [1], [2] of the camera view. The flow field is the fully developed turbulent channel flow. Thin film made of thermo-chromic liquid crystal is placed on the wall. A rectangular shaped obstacle is glued on the film. The obstacle is within a region of buffer layer with height from the wall. Temperature of the film and the obstacle are slightly raised by a heater below the wall. The air flow makes non-uniform temperature distribution and non-uniform color distribution appears on the surface of the film. Relations between hue and local skin friction coefficient were examined in a turbulent air channel flow. It is indicated that a certain hue of a point is varying linearly against the corresponding local skin friction coefficient.


2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kourta ◽  
G. Petit ◽  
J. C. Courty ◽  
J. P. Rosenblum

The control of subsonic high lift induced separation on airfoil may improve the flight envelope of current aircraft or even simplify the complex and heavy high-lift devices on commercial airframes. Until now, synthetic jets have proved a really interesting efficiency to delay or remove even leading-edge located separated areas on high-lift configuration but are not efficient for real scale aircrafts. In case of pressure-like separation (i.e. from trailing-edge), synthetic jets can be replaced by so the called “Vortex Generator Jets” which create strong longitudinal vortices that increase mixing in inner boundary layer and consequently the skin friction coefficient is increased to prevent separation. In this study, numerical simulations were undertaken on a generic three dimensional flat plate in order to quantify the effect of the longitudinal vortices on the natural skin friction coefficient. Both counter and co-rotative devices were tested at different exhaust velocities and distances between each others. Finally co-rotative vortex generators jets were tested on a three dimensional generic airfoil ONERA D. Results show a delay of the separation occurence but this solution does not seem to be as robust as synthetic jets. The study of jets spacing with respect to the efficiency of the devices shows a maximum for a given ratio of spacing to exhaust velocity.


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