Friction Factor Comparison Between Mixing Length Theory and Empirical Correlation

Author(s):  
M Prasad

Abstract Equivalent sand grain roughness is required for estimating friction factor for engineering applications from empirical relation via Haalands equation. The real surfaces are different from the sand grain profile. The correlations for friction factor were derived from use of discrete roughness elements with regular shapes such as cones, bars etc. The purpose of the paper is to derive analytical expression of friction factor for a 2 dimensional semi-cylindrical roughness (not exactly a 3 dimensional sand grain but for the circular profile of cross- section) using Navier Stoke equation and mixing length theory. This is compared with the modified series mathematical representation of Haalands equation for friction factor in terms of equivalent sand grain roughness. The comparison is valid for high Reynolds number where the velocity profile is almost flat beyond boundary layer and approximately linear all throughout the boundary layer. The high Reynolds number approximation for Haalands equation is derived and the series form of the friction factor compares approximately with the series form derived from first principles, where in the exponents of the series expansion are close.

Author(s):  
Yasaman Farsiani ◽  
Brian R. Elbing

This paper reports on the characterization of the custom-designed high-Reynolds number recirculating water tunnel located at Oklahoma State University. The characterization includes the verification of the test section design, pump calibration and the velocity distribution within the test section. This includes an assessment of the boundary layer growth within the test section. The tunnel was designed to achieve a downstream distance based Reynolds number of 10 million, provide optical access for flow visualization and minimize inlet flow non-uniformity. The test section is 1 m long with 15.2 cm (6-inch) square cross section and acrylic walls to allow direct line of sight at the tunnel walls. The verification of the test section design was accomplished by comparing the flow quality at different location downstream of the flow inlet. The pump was calibrated with the freestream velocity with three pump frequencies and velocity profiles were measured at defined locations for three pump speeds. Boundary layer thicknesses were measured from velocity profile results and compared with analytical calculations. These measurements were also compared against the facility design calculations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 856 ◽  
pp. 958-983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinyul Hwang ◽  
Hyung Jin Sung

Wall turbulence is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature and engineering applications, yet predicting such turbulence is difficult due to its complexity. High-Reynolds-number turbulence arises in most practical flows, and is particularly complicated because of its wide range of scales. Although the attached-eddy hypothesis postulated by Townsend can be used to predict turbulence intensities and serves as a unified theory for the asymptotic behaviours of turbulence, the presence of coherent structures that contribute to the logarithmic behaviours has not been observed in instantaneous flow fields. Here, we demonstrate the logarithmic region of the turbulence intensity by identifying wall-attached structures of the velocity fluctuations ($u_{i}$) through the direct numerical simulation of a moderate-Reynolds-number boundary layer ($Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}\approx 1000$). The wall-attached structures are self-similar with respect to their heights ($l_{y}$), and in particular the population density of the streamwise component ($u$) scales inversely with $l_{y}$, reminiscent of the hierarchy of attached eddies. The turbulence intensities contained within the wall-parallel components ($u$ and $w$) exhibit the logarithmic behaviour. The tall attached structures ($l_{y}^{+}>100$) of $u$ are composed of multiple uniform momentum zones (UMZs) with long streamwise extents, whereas those of the cross-stream components ($v$ and $w$) are relatively short with a comparable width, suggesting the presence of tall vortical structures associated with multiple UMZs. The magnitude of the near-wall peak observed in the streamwise turbulent intensity increases with increasing $l_{y}$, reflecting the nested hierarchies of the attached $u$ structures. These findings suggest that the identified structures are prime candidates for Townsend’s attached-eddy hypothesis and that they can serve as cornerstones for understanding the multiscale phenomena of high-Reynolds-number boundary layers.


1997 ◽  
Vol 353 ◽  
pp. 163-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. N. TIMOSHIN

A high-Reynolds-number asymptotic theory is developed for linear instability waves in a two-dimensional incompressible boundary layer on a flat surface coated with a thin film of a different fluid. The focus in this study is on the influence of the film flow on the lower-branch Tollmien–Schlichting waves, and also on the effect of boundary-layer/potential flow interaction on interfacial instabilities. Accordingly, the film thickness is assumed to be comparable to the thickness of a viscous sublayer in a three-tier asymptotic structure of lower-branch Tollmien–Schlichting disturbances. A fully nonlinear viscous/inviscid interaction formulation is derived, and computational and analytical solutions for small disturbances are obtained for both Tollmien–Schlichting and interfacial instabilities for a range of density and viscosity ratios of the fluids, and for various values of the surface tension coefficient and the Froude number. It is shown that the interfacial instability contains the fastest growing modes and an upper-branch neutral point within the chosen flow regime if the film viscosity is greater than the viscosity of the ambient fluid. For a less viscous film the theory predicts a lower neutral branch of shorter-scale interfacial waves. The film flow is found to have a strong effect on the Tollmien–Schlichting instability, the most dramatic outcome being a powerful destabilization of the flow due to a linear resonance between growing Tollmien–Schlichting and decaying capillary modes. Increased film viscosity also destabilizes Tollmien–Schlichting disturbances, with the maximum growth rate shifted towards shorter waves. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons are made with experimental observations by Ludwieg & Hornung (1989).


1940 ◽  
Vol 44 (359) ◽  
pp. 795-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Prandtl Gottingen

The field of viscosity forces in fluid currents of low viscosity—i.e., high Reynolds number—is frequently confined to a narrow zone in the vicinity of the surface; consequently, calculation can be simplified by the following assumptions :—1. In the friction zone, customarily called the “ boundary layer,” only the most effective components of the viscosity force μΔω, are considered—e.g., for the x component of this force, μΔu (calling the direction of main flow parallel to the surface, the x direction, and that perpendicular thereto the y direction) the expressions μ (∂2u/∂x2) and μ (∂2u/∂z2) can be neglected for μ (∂2u/∂y2).


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