Surface roughness effects in turbulent boundary layers

Abstract

The effects of surface roughness on a turbulent boundary layer are investigated by comparing measurements over two rough walls with measurements from a smooth wall boundary layer. The two rough surfaces have very different surface geometries although designed to produce the same roughness function, i.e. to have nominally the same effect on the mean velocity profile. Different turbulent transport characteristics are observed for the rough surfaces. Substantial effects on the stresses occur throughout the layer showing that the roughness effects are not confined to the wall region. The turbulent energy production and the turbulent diffusion are significantly different between the two rough surfaces, the diffusion having opposite sign in the region γ/δ < 0.5. Although velocity spectra exhibit differences between the three surfaces, the mean energy dissipation rate does not appear to be significantly affected by the roughness.