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The turbulent boundary layer over a wall with progressive surface waves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

James M. Kendall
James M. Kendall
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 91103, U.S.A.
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Abstract

An experimental study of the interaction of a turbulent boundary layer with a wavy wall was conducted in a wind tunnel. A smooth neoprene rubber sheet comprising a portion of the floor of the tunnel was mechanically deformed into 12 sinusoidal waves which progressed upwind or down at controlled speed. The turbulent layer thickness was a little less than the wavelength. The mean velocity profile was linear on a semi-log plot over a substantial range of vertical height.

The wall pressure was observed to be asymmetrical about the wave profile, resulting in a pressure drag. Flow separation was not the cause of the drag. The drag was found to be larger than that predicted by the inviscid wave generation theory. The measurements indicate that the waves strongly modulate the turbulent structure. The phase of the turbulent stresses with respect to the waves varies with wave speed, indicating that the dynamical reaction time of the turbulence is not negligible in comparison with the wave period.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , 13 April 1970 , pp. 259 - 281
Copyright
© 1970 Cambridge University Press

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