On the size of the energy-containing eddies in the outer turbulent wall layer

2012 ◽  
Vol 702 ◽  
pp. 521-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Pirozzoli

AbstractWe investigate the scaling of the energy-containing eddies in the outer part of turbulent wall layers. Their spanwise integral length scales are extracted from a direct numerical simulation (DNS) database, which includes compressible turbulent boundary layers and incompressible turbulent Couette–Poiseuille flows. The results indicate similar behaviour for all classes of flows, with a general increasing trend in the eddy size with the wall distance. A family of scaling relationships are proposed based on simple dimensional arguments, of which the classical mixing length approximation constitutes one example. As in previous studies, we find that the mixing length is in good agreement with the size distribution of the eddies carrying wall-normal velocity, which are active in establishing the mean velocity distribution. However, we find that the eddies associated with wall-parallel motions obey a different scaling, which is controlled by the local mean shear and by an effective eddy diffusivity ${\nu }_{t} = { u}_{\tau }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } \delta $, where ${ u}_{\tau }^{\ensuremath{\ast} } $ is the compressible counterpart of the friction velocity, and $\delta $ is the thickness of the wall layer. The validity of the proposed scalings is checked against DNS data, and the potential implications for the understanding of wall turbulence are discussed.

2014 ◽  
Vol 745 ◽  
pp. 378-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Pirozzoli

AbstractWe reconsider foundations and implications of the mixing length theory as applied to wall-bounded turbulent flows in uniform pressure gradient. Based on recent channel-flow direct numerical simulation (DNS) data at sufficiently high Reynolds number, we find that Prandtl’s hypothesis of linear variation of the mixing length with the wall distance is rather inaccurate, hence overlap arguments are stronger in justifying the formation of a logarithmic layer in the mean velocity profile. Regarding the core region of the wall layer, we find that Clauser’s hypothesis of uniform eddy viscosity is strictly connected with the observed size of the eddy structures, and it delivers surprisingly good agreement with DNS and experiments for channels, pipes, and boundary layers. We show that the analytically derived composite mean velocity profiles can be used to accurately predict skin friction in canonical wall-bounded flows with a minimal number of adjustable parameters directly related to the mean velocity profile, and to obtain some insight into transient growth phenomena.


2020 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Heisel ◽  
Charitha M. de Silva ◽  
Nicholas Hutchins ◽  
Ivan Marusic ◽  
Michele Guala


1991 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 213-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Jiménez ◽  
Parviz Moin

Direct numerical simulations of unsteady channel flow were performed at low to moderate Reynolds numbers on computational boxes chosen small enough so that the flow consists of a doubly periodic (in x and z) array of identical structures. The goal is to isolate the basic flow unit, to study its morphology and dynamics, and to evaluate its contribution to turbulence in fully developed channels. For boxes wider than approximately 100 wall units in the spanwise direction, the flow is turbulent and the low-order turbulence statistics are in good agreement with experiments in the near-wall region. For a narrow range of widths below that threshold, the flow near only one wall remains turbulent, but its statistics are still in fairly good agreement with experimental data when scaled with the local wall stress. For narrower boxes only laminar solutions are found. In all cases, the elementary box contains a single low-velocity streak, consisting of a longitudinal strip on which a thin layer of spanwise vorticity is lifted away from the wall. A fundamental period of intermittency for the regeneration of turbulence is identified, and that process is observed to consist of the wrapping of the wall-layer vorticity around a single inclined longitudinal vortex.


1981 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 423-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Dawkins ◽  
D. R. Davies

An approximate, conveniently applied theory with corresponding experimental data is presented concerning the changes in momentum and mass transfer produced by a ridge of small slopes in a flat-surface quasi-stationary turbulent boundary layer. A first-order mean velocity perturbation solution is found to be in good agreement with measured velocities on the up-slope side of a two-dimensional ridge, of length 20 cm and height 1 cm, fixed on the floor of the working section of an open-circuit wind tunnel. A vapour-transfer eddy-diffusivity distribution is then calculated for the inner boundary-layer region and solutions of the consequent vapour-transfer equation give the variation of rate of evaporation from surfaces of varying lengths placed at different positions on the up-slope region of the ridge. Corresponding measurements are found to be in good agreement with the theoretical calculations, and show that, even over small slopes (of 1 in 10), the evaporation rate varied with position by 25% from maximum to minimum. This method of calculation is extended to examine the effect of surface curvature on diffusion of gas from an upstream line source in a turbulent boundary layer over the ridge; experimental and theoretical concentration profiles compare extremely well over the leading slope.


2021 ◽  
Vol 931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Monkewitz

The scaling of different features of streamwise normal stress profiles $\langle uu\rangle ^+(y^+)$ in turbulent wall-bounded flows is the subject of a long-running debate. Particular points of contention are the scaling of the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ peaks of $\langle uu\rangle ^+$ at $y^+\approxeq ~15$ and $y^+ ={O}(10^3)$ , respectively, their infinite Reynolds number limit, and the rate of logarithmic decay in the outer part of the flow. Inspired by the thought-provoking paper of Chen & Sreenivasan (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 908, 2021, p. R3), two terms of an inner asymptotic expansion of $\langle uu\rangle ^+$ in the small parameter $Re_{\tau }^{-1/4}$ are constructed from a set of direct numerical simulations (DNS) of channel flow. This inner expansion is for the first time matched through an overlap layer to an outer expansion, which not only fits the same set of channel DNS within 1.5 % of the peak stress, but also provides a good match of laboratory data in pipes and the near-wall part of boundary layers, up to the highest $Re_{\tau }$ values of $10^5$ . The salient features of the new composite expansion are first, an inner $\langle uu\rangle ^+$ peak, which saturates at 11.3 and decreases as $Re_{\tau }^{-1/4}$ . This inner peak is followed by a short ‘wall log law’ with a slope that becomes positive for $Re_{\tau }$ beyond ${O}(10^4)$ , leading up to an outer peak, followed by the logarithmic overlap layer with a negative slope going continuously to zero for $Re_{\tau }\to \infty$ .


1970 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Wygnanski ◽  
H. E. Fiedler

The two-dimensional incompressible mixing layer was investigated by using constant-temperature, linearized hot wire anemometers. The measurements were divided into three categories: (1) the conventional average measurements; (2) time-average measurements in the turbulent and the non-turbulent zones; (3) ensemble average measurements conditioned to a specific location of the interface. The turbulent energy balance was constructed twice, once using the conventional results and again using the turbulent zone results. Some differences emerged between the two sets of results. It appears that the mixing region can be divided into two regions, one on the high velocity side which resembles the outer part of a wake and the other on the low velocity side which resembles a jet. The binding turbulent–non-turbulent interfaces seem to move independently of each other. There is a strong connexion between the instantaneous location of the interface and the axial velocity profile. Indeed the well known exponential mean velocity profile never actually exists at any given instant. In spite of the complexity of the flow the simple concepts of eddy viscosity and eddy diffusivity appear to be valid within the turbulent zone.


1997 ◽  
Vol 338 ◽  
pp. 363-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAG ARONSON ◽  
ARNE V. JOHANSSON ◽  
LENNART LÖFDAHL

The mean shear has a major influence on near-wall turbulence but there are also other important physical processes at work in the turbulence/wall interaction. In order to isolate these, a shear-free boundary layer was studied experimentally. The desired flow conditions were realized by generating decaying grid turbulence with a uniform mean velocity and passing it over a wall moving with the stream speed. It is shown that the initial response of the turbulence field can be well described by the theory of Hunt & Graham (1978). Later, where this theory ceases to give an accurate description, terms of the Reynolds stress transport (RST) equations were measured or estimated by balancing the equations. An important finding is that two different length scales are associated with the near-wall damping of the Reynolds stresses. The wall-normal velocity component is damped over a region extending roughly one macroscale out from the wall. The pressure–strain redistribution that normally would result from the Reynolds stress anisotropy in this region was found to be completely inhibited by the near-wall influence. In a thin region close to the wall the pressure–reflection effects were found to give a pressure–strain that has an effect opposite to the normally expected isotropization. This behaviour is not captured by current models.


1978 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Hassid ◽  
Michael Poreh

A turbulent-energy-dissipation model is proposed for flows with and without drag reduction. The model is based on an eddy diffusivity approximation in the momentum equation, and on transport equations for the turbulent energy and the turbulent energy dissipation. The model describes the mean velocity profile and the turbulent energy distribution as a function of the reduction in the friction coefficient. It also yields a turbulent length scale which is shown to grow with drag reduction. The predictions of the model are in good agreement with the available experimental data.


1969 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. E. Launder ◽  
W. P. Jones

The study of sink flow turbulent boundary layers is of particular relevance to the problem of laminarization. The reason lies in the fact that the acceleration parameter which principally determines when a turbulent boundary layer will begin to revert towards laminar is, in these flows, constant from station to station. The paper presents theoretical solutions to this class of boundary layer by making use of the Prandtl mixing-length formula to relate the turbulent shear stress to the mean velocity gradient. Near the wall the Van Driest recommendation for mixing length is adopted and the Van Driest function, A+, is chosen such that the skin friction coefficient does not exceed a certain maximum value.The predicted solutions, which are in good agreement with available experimental data, display a plausible shift from the turbulent towards the laminar solution as the acceleration parameter is increased.


2014 ◽  
Vol 751 ◽  
pp. 298-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kapil Chauhan ◽  
Jimmy Philip ◽  
Ivan Marusic

AbstractScaling of the interface that demarcates a turbulent boundary layer from the non-turbulent free stream is sought using theoretical reasoning and experimental evidence in a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer. The data-analysis, utilising particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements at four different Reynolds numbers ($\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}\delta u_{\tau }/\nu =1200\mbox{--}14\, 500$), indicates the presence of a viscosity dominated interface at all Reynolds numbers. It is found that the mean normal velocity across the interface and the tangential velocity jump scale with the skin-friction velocity$u_{\tau }$and are approximately$u_{\tau }/10$and$u_{\tau }$, respectively. The width of the superlayer is characterised by the local vorticity thickness$\delta _{\omega }$and scales with the viscous length scale$\nu /u_{\tau }$. An order of magnitude analysis of the tangential momentum balance within the superlayer suggests that the turbulent motions also scale with inner velocity and length scales$u_{\tau }$and$\nu /u_{\tau }$, respectively. The influence of the wall on the dynamics in the superlayer is considered via Townsend’s similarity hypothesis, which can be extended to account for the viscous influence at the turbulent/non-turbulent interface. Similar to a turbulent far-wake the turbulent motions in the superlayer are of the same order as the mean velocity deficit, which lends to a physical explanation for the emergence of the wake profile in the outer part of the boundary layer.


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