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Turbulent boundary layer relaxation from convex curvature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2006

Amy E. Alving ,
Alexander J. Smits  and
Jonathan H. Watmuff
Amy E. Alving
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA Present address: Herman-Fottinger Institute, Technical University of Berlin, D-1000 Berlin 12, FGR.
Alexander J. Smits
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Jonathan H. Watmuff
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA Present address: Center for Turbulence Research, NASA-Ames Research Center MS 260-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
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Abstract

A study was undertaken to examine the flat plate relaxation behaviour of a turbulent boundary layer recovering from 90° of strong convex curvature (δ0/R = 0.08), for a length of ≈ 90δ0 after the end of curvature, where δ0 is the boundary layer thickness at the start of the curvature. The results show that the relaxation behaviour of the mean flow and the turbulence are quite different. The mean velocity profile and skin friction coefficient asymptotically approach the unperturbed state and at the last measuring station appear to be fully recovered. The turbulence relaxation, however, occurs in several stages over a much longer distance. In the first stage, a stress ‘bore’ (a region of elevated stress) is generated near the wall, and the bore thickens with distance downstream. Eventually it fills the whole boundary layer, but the stress levels continue to rise beyond their self-preserving values. Finally the stresses begin a gradual decline, but at the last measuring station they are still well above the unperturbed levels, and the ratios of the Reynolds stresses are distorted. These results imply a reorganization of the large-scale structure into a new quasi-stable state. The long-lasting effects of curvature highlight the sensitivity of a boundary layer to its condition of formation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 211 , February 1990 , pp. 529 - 556
Copyright
© 1990 Cambridge University Press

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