Revisiting the mixing-length hypothesis in the outer part of turbulent wall layers: mean flow and wall friction

2014 ◽  
Vol 745 ◽  
pp. 378-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Pirozzoli
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Wall Layer ◽  
Wall Friction ◽  
Mixing Length ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Turbulent Wall

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.

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

2012 ◽  
Vol 702 ◽  
pp. 521-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Pirozzoli
Keyword(s):  
Outer Part ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Wall Layer ◽  
Wall Turbulence ◽  
Normal Velocity ◽  
Mixing Length ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Local Mean ◽  
Turbulent Wall ◽  
Good Agreement

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.

The Ultimate Asymptote and Mean Flow Structure in Toms’ Phenomenon

1970 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 488-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Virk ◽  
H. S. Mickley ◽  
K. A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Drag Reduction ◽  
Flow Structure ◽  
Viscous Sublayer ◽  
Mixing Length ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
Length Constant ◽  
The Mean

The maximum drag reduction in turbulent pipe flow of dilute polymer solutions is ultimately limited by a unique asymptote described by the experimental correlation: f−1/2=19.0log10(NRef1/2)−32.4 The semilogarithmic mean velocity profile corresponding to and inferred from this ultimate asymptote has a mixing-length constant of 0.085 and shares a trisection (at y+ ∼ 12) with the Newtonian viscous sublayer and law of the wall. Experimental mean velocity profiles taken during drag reduction lie in the region bounded by the inferred ultimate profile and the Newtonian law of the wall. At low drag reductions the experimental profiles are well correlated by an “effective slip” model but this fails progressively with increasing drag reduction. Based on the foregoing a three-zone scheme is proposed to model the mean flow structure during drag reduction. In this the mean velocity profile segments are (a) a viscous sublayer, akin to Newtonian, (b) an interactive zone, characteristic of drag reduction, in which the ultimate profile is followed, and (c) a turbulent core in which the Newtonian mixing-length constant applies. The proposed model is consistent with experimental observations and reduces satisfactorily to the Taylor-Prandtl scheme and the ultimate profile, respectively, at the limits of zero and maximum drag reductions.

Investigations of Tripping Effect on the Friction Factor in Turbulent Pipe Flows

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Al-Salaymeh ◽  
O. A. Bayoumi
Keyword(s):  
Friction Factor ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Turbulent Pipe Flow ◽  
Wall Friction ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Fully Developed Turbulent Flow ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference

Tripping devices are usually installed at the entrance of laboratory-scale pipe test sections to obtain a fully developed turbulent flow sooner. The tripping of laminar flow to induce turbulence can be carried out in different ways, such as using cylindrical wires, sand papers, well-organized tape elements, fences, etc. Claims of tripping effects have been made since the classical experiments of Nikuradse (1932, Gesetzmässigkeit der turbulenten Strömung in glatten Rohren, Forschungsheft 356, Ausgabe B, Vol. 3, VDI-Verlag, Berlin), which covered a significant range of Reynolds numbers. Nikuradse’s data have become the metric by which theories are established and have also been the subject of intense scrutiny. Several subsequent experiments reported friction factors as much as 5% lower than those measured by Nikuradse, and the authors of those reports attributed the difference to tripping effects, e.g., work of Durst et al. (2003, “Investigation of the Mean-Flow Scaling and Tripping Effect on Fully Developed Turbulent Pipe Flow,” J. Hydrodynam., 15(1), pp. 14–22). In the present study, measurements with and without ring tripping devices of different blocking areas of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% have been carried out to determine the effect of entrance condition on the developing flow field in pipes. Along with pressure drop measurements to compute the skin friction, both the Pitot tube and hot-wire anemometry measurements have been used to accurately determine the mean velocity profile over the working test section at different Reynolds numbers based on the mean velocity and pipe diameter in the range of 1.0×105–4.5×105. The results we obtained suggest that the tripping technique has an insignificant effect on the wall friction factor, in agreement with Nikuradse’s original data.

An experimental investigation of pulsating turbulent water flow in a tube

1971 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Gerrard
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Cylindrical Tube ◽  
Flow Speed ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Central Plateau ◽  
Transition Range ◽  
The Mean

Experiments were made on a pulsating water flow at a mean flow Reynolds number of 3770 in a cylindrical tube of diameter 3·81 cm. Pulsations were produced by a piston oscillating in simple harmonic motion with a period of 12 s. Turbulence was made visible by means of a sheet of dye produced by electrolysis from a fine wire stretched across a diameter. The sheet of dye is contorted by the turbulent eddies, and ciné-photography was used to find the velocity of convection which was shown to be the flow speed except in certain circumstances which are discussed. By subtracting the mean flow velocity profile the profile of the component of the motion oscillating at the imposed frequency was determined.The Reynolds number of these experiments lies in the turbulent transition range, so that large effects of laminarization are observed. In the turbulent phase, the velocity profile was found to possess a central plateau as does the laminar oscillating profile. The level and radial extent of this were little different from the laminar ones. Near to the wall, the turbulent oscillating profile is well represented by the mean velocity power law relationship, u/U ∝ (y/a)1/n. In the laminarized phase, the turbulent intensity is considerably reduced at this Reynolds number. The velocity profile for the whole flow (mean plus oscillating) relaxes towards the laminar profile. Laminarization contributes appreciably to the oscillating component.Extrapolation of the results to higher Reynolds numbers and different frequencies of oscillation is suggested.

Outline of a theory of turbulent shear flow

1956 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. R. Malkus
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flow ◽  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Momentum Transport ◽  
Turbulent Shear ◽  
Spectral Structure ◽  
Turbulent Shear Flow ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
The Mean

In this paper the spatial variations and spectral structure of steady-state turbulent shear flow in channels are investigated without the introduction of empirical parameters. This is made possible by the assumption that the non-linear momentum transport has only stabilizing effects on the mean field of flow. Two constraints on the possible momentum transport are drawn from this assumption: first, that the mean flow will be statistically stable if an Orr-Sommerfeld type equation is satisfied by fluctuations of the mean; second, that the smallest scale of motion that can be present in the spectrum of the momentum transport is the scale of the marginally stable fluctuations of the mean. Within these two constraints, and for a given mass transport, an upper limit is sought for the rate of dissipation of potential energy into heat. Solutions of the stability equation depend upon the shape of the mean velocity profile. In turn, the mean velocity profile depends upon the spatial spectrum of the momentum transport. A variational technique is used to determine that momentum transport spectrum which is both marginally stable and produces a maximum dissipation rate. The resulting spectrum determines the velocity profile and its dependence on the boundary conditions. Past experimental work has disclosed laminar, ‘transitional’, logarithmic and parabolic regions of the velocity profile. Several experimental laws and their accompanying constants relate the extent of these regions to the boundary conditions. The theoretical profile contains each feature and law that is observed. First approximations to the constants are found, and give, in particular, a value for the logarithmic slope (von Kármán's constant) which is within the experimental error. However, the theoretical boundary constant is smaller than the observed value. Turbulent channel flow seems to achieve the extreme state found here, but a more decisive quantitative comparison of theory and experiment requires improvement in the solutions of the classical laminar stability problem.

Gravity waves over a non-uniform flow

1969 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. M. Velthuizen ◽  
L. Van Wijngaarden
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Distribution ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Propagation Velocity ◽  
Fluid Velocity ◽  
Wall Layer ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Critical Height ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
The Mean

This paper is concerned with the propagation of small amplitude gravity waves over a flow with non-uniform velocity distribution. For such a flow Burns derived a relation for the velocity of propagation in terms of the velocity distribution of the mean flow. This result is derived here in another way and some of its implications are discussed. It is shown that one of these is hardly acceptable physically. Burns's result holds only when a real value of the propagation velocity is assumed; the mentioned difficulties vanish if complex values are allowed for, implying damping or growth of the waves. Viscous effects which are the cause of damping or growth are important in the wall layer near the bottom and also at the critical depth, which is present when the wave speed is between zero and the fluid velocity at the free surface.In § 2 the basic equations for the present problem are given. In § 3 exchange of momentum and energy between wave and primary flow is discussed. This is analogous to what happens at the critical height in a wind flow over wind-driven gravity waves. In § 4 the viscous effects at the bottom are included in the analysis and the complex equation for the propagation velocity is derived. Finally in § 5 illustrations of the theory are given for long waves over running flow and for the flow along a ship advancing in a wavy sea. In these examples a negative curvature of the mean velocity profile is shown to have a stabilizing effect.

Turbulent rotating flow calculations: An assessment of two-equation anisotropic and Reynolds stress models

1998 ◽  
Vol 212 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
S P Yuan ◽  
R M C So
Keyword(s):  
Stress Tensor ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Reynolds Stress ◽  
Dissipation Rate ◽  
Rotating Flow ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Anisotropic Stress ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Anisotropic Stress Tensor

The stress field in a rotating turbulent internal flow is highly anisotropic. This is true irrespective of whether the axis of rotation is aligned with or normal to the mean flow plane. Consequently, turbulent rotating flow is very difficult to model. This paper attempts to assess the relative merits of three different ways to account for stress anisotropies in a rotating flow. One is to assume an anisotropic stress tensor, another is to model the anisotropy of the dissipation rate tensor, while a third is to solve the stress transport equations directly. Two different near-wall two-equation models and one Reynolds stress closure are considered. All the models tested are asymptotically consistent near the wall. The predictions are compared with measurements and direct numerical simulation data. Calculations of turbulent flows with inlet swirl numbers up to 1.3, with and without a central recirculation, reveal that none of the anisotropic two-equation models tested is capable of replicating the mean velocity field at these swirl numbers. This investigation, therefore, indicates that neither the assumption of anisotropic stress tensor nor that of an anisotropic dissipation rate tensor is sufficient to model flows with medium to high rotation correctly. It is further found that, at very high rotation rates, even the Reynolds stress closure fails to predict accurately the extent of the central recirculation zone.

The formation of shear and density layers in stably stratified turbulent flows: linear processes

2002 ◽  
Vol 455 ◽  
pp. 243-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. GALMICHE ◽  
J. C. R. HUNT
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Shear Stresses ◽  
Flow Profile ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Linear Processes ◽  
Buoyancy Forces ◽  
Uniform Background ◽  
The Mean

The initial evolution of the momentum and buoyancy fluxes in a freely decaying, stably stratified homogeneous turbulent flow with r.m.s. velocity u′0 and integral lengthscale l0 is calculated using a weakly inhomogeneous and unsteady form of the rapid distortion theory (RDT) in order to study the growth of small temporal and spatial perturbations in the large-scale mean stratification N(z, t) and mean velocity profile ū(z, t) (here N is the local Brunt–Väisälä frequency and ū is the local velocity of the horizontal mean flow) when the ratio of buoyancy forces to inertial forces is large, i.e. Nl0/u′0[Gt ]1. The lengthscale L of the perturbations in the mean profiles of stratification and shear is assumed to be large compared to l0 and the presence of a uniform background mean shear can be taken into account in the model provided that the inertial shear forces are still weaker than the buoyancy forces, i.e. when the Richardson number Ri = (N/∂zū)2[Gt ]1 at each height.When a mean shear perturbation is introduced initially with no uniform background mean shear and uniform stratification, the analysis shows that the perturbations in the mean flow profile grow on a timescale of order N-1. When the mean density profile is perturbed initially in the absence of a background mean shear, layers with significant density gradient fluctuations grow on a timescale of order N−10 (where N0 is the order of magnitude of the initial Brunt–Väisälä frequency) without any associated mean velocity gradients in the layers. These results are in good agreement with the direct numerical simulations performed by Galmiche et al. (2002) and are consistent with the earlier physically based conjectures made by Phillips (1972) and Posmentier (1977). The model also shows that when there is a background mean shear in combination with perturbations in the mean stratification, negative shear stresses develop which cause the mean velocity gradient to grow in the density layers. The linear analysis for short times indicates that the scale on which the mean perturbations grow fastest is of order u′0/N0, which is consistent with the experiments of Park et al. (1994).We conclude that linear mechanisms are widely involved in the formation of shear and density layers in stratified flows as is observed in some laboratory experiments and geophysical flows, but note that the layers are also significantly influenced by nonlinear and dissipative processes at large times.

The maintenance of Reynolds stress in turbulent shear flow

1967 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. M. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flow ◽  
Velocity Profile ◽  
Reynolds Stress ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Turbulent Shear ◽  
Turbulent Shear Flow ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Velocity Fluctuations ◽  
The Mean

A mechanism is proposed for the manner in which the turbulent components support Reynolds stress in turbulent shear flow. This involves a generalization of Miles's mechanism in which each of the turbulent components interacts with the mean flow to produce an increment of Reynolds stress at the ‘matched layer’ of that particular component. The summation over all the turbulent components leads to an expression for the gradient of the Reynolds stress τ(z) in the turbulence\[ \frac{d\tau}{dz} = {\cal A}\Theta\overline{w^2}\frac{d^2U}{dz^2}, \]where${\cal A}$is a number, Θ the convected integral time scale of thew-velocity fluctuations andU(z) the mean velocity profile. This is consistent with a number of experimental results, and measurements on the mixing layer of a jet indicate thatA= 0·24 in this case. In other flows, it would be expected to be of the same order, though its precise value may vary somewhat from one to another.

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