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The law of the wake in the turbulent boundary layer

Coles, Donald (1956) The law of the wake in the turbulent boundary layer. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1 (2). pp. 191-226. ISSN 0022-1120. doi:10.1017/S0022112056000135. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130509-152723361

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Abstract

After an extensive survey of mean-velocity profile measurements in various two-dimensional incompressible turbulent boundary-layer flows, it is proposed to represent the profile by a linear combination of two universal functions. One is the well-known law of the wall. The other, called the law of the wake, is characterized by the profile at a point of separation or reattachment. These functions are considered to be established empirically, by a study of the mean-velocity profile, without reference to any hypothetical mechanism of turbulence. Using the resulting complete analytic representation for the mean-velocity field, the shearing-stress field for several flows is computed from the boundary-layer equations and compared with experimental data. The development of a turbulent boundary layer is ultimately interpreted in terms of an equivalent wake profile, which supposedly represents the large-eddy structure and is a consequence of the constraint provided by inertia. This equivalent wake profile is modified by the presence of a wall, at which a further constraint is provided by viscosity. The wall constraint, although it penetrates the entire boundary layer, is manifested chiefly in the sublayer flow and in the logarithmic profile near the wall. Finally, it is suggested that yawed or three-dimensional flows may be usefully represented by the same two universal functions, considered as vector rather than scalar quantities. If the wall component is defined to be in the direction of the surface shearing stress, then the wake component, at least in the few cases studied, is found to be very nearly parallel to the gradient of the pressure.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022112056000135 DOIUNSPECIFIED
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=367043PublisherUNSPECIFIED
Additional Information:© 1956 Cambridge University Press. Received 14 January 1956. Published online: 28 March 2006.
Issue or Number:2
DOI:10.1017/S0022112056000135
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20130509-152723361
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130509-152723361
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:38400
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:10 May 2013 22:37
Last Modified:09 Nov 2021 23:37

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