External Turbulent Flow

Continuity Eqn:

X- Momentum eqn for turbulent boundary layer flow:

negative
Y- Momentum eqn for turbulent boundary layer flow:

Energy eqn for turbulent boundary layer flow:

No. of equations: 3
No. of unknowns: 5
So need Turbulence modelling:

It is an empirical activity consisting of

closely scrutinizing the available body of
experimental data in order to identify
possible trends and flow characteristics
that might lead us to generally applicable
expressions (models) for momentum and
thermal eddy diffusivities.
1. Prandtl’s Mixing Length Model: Scaling argument to justify choice of model

 Let a particle of fluid is forced toward the wall by a velocity fluctuation

 We will define the mixing length = the distance the particle travels
toward the wall as the result of a fluctuation.

Approximated from a Taylor series

If we assume, as we have before, that fluctuations have no preferred direction,

So scaling of turbulent stress term,

momentum eddy diffusivity/eddy viscosity remains positive

Model for the mixing length for flow over a flat plate by Prandtl: Mixing length approaches zero as y approaches zero

von Karman constant

Prandtl’s mixing-length model

Substituting this model into the momentum equation, and the boundary layer equations either numerically or using an
approximate solution technique, where k is unknown and needs to be modelled
2. Turbulent velocity Model In viscous sublayer:

shear stress on the wall is purely viscous:

friction velocity

Nondimensional velocity within the sublayer

viscous forces dominate over the inertia forces,
no turbulence exists in it

 The viscous sublayer is a thin layer of flow next to the boundary in which
viscous shear stress predominates over turbulent shear stress. Shear in the
viscous sublayer, as characterized by the rate of change of average fluid
velocity as one moves away from the wall, is very high, because fast-moving
fluid is mixed right down to the top of the viscous sublayer by turbulent
diffusion.
 If the boundary is too rough, the viscous sublayer is missing
 The flow is not strictly laminar in the viscous sublayer because it experiences
random fluctuations in velocity
 The turbulent fluctuations in velocity in the viscous sublayer are the result of
advection of eddies from regions farther away from the wall; these eddies are
damped out by viscous shear stresses in the sublayer
 The buffer layer is a zone just outside the viscous sublayer in which the gradient of time-average velocity is still very high but the flow is
strongly turbulent
 Very energetic small-scale turbulence is generated there by instability of the strongly sheared flow, and there is a sharp peak in the conversion
of mean-flow kinetic energy to turbulent kinetic energy, and also in the dissipation of this turbulent energy; for this reason the buffer layer is
often called the turbulence-generation layer
 Some of the turbulence produced here is carried outward into the broad outer layer of flow, and some is carried inward into the viscous
sublayer. The buffer layer is fairly thin but thicker than the viscous sublayer

In turbulent zone:

 The broad region outside the buffer layer and extending all the way to the free surface is called the outer layer/turbulent zone.
 Here the turbulent shear stress is predominant, and the viscous shear stress can be neglected.
 Because of their large size, the turbulent eddies here are more efficient at transporting momentum normal to the flow direction than are the
much smaller eddies nearer the boundary
 But it turns out that these large eddies contain much less kinetic energy per unit volume of fluid than in the buffer layer.
 viscosity-dominated region, which includes the viscous sublayer and the lower part of the buffer layer viscous shear stress is more important
than turbulent shear stress, and a turbulence-dominated region, which includes the outer layer and the outer part of the buffer layer, where
the reverse is true
Approximate Solution for Momentum Transfer: Momentum Integral Method (White’s Model)

The velocity profile in the boundary layer is modeled as

 substituting the definitions of u+ and y+, into the Law of the Wall

At edge of the boundary layer

The above equation is cumbersome; a simpler expression can be found by curve-fitting values over a range of values from

Cf 0 1 6 7 d
  0.01 Re 
2 V 2
72 dx
Then, separating variables and integrating and

 0.16 C f 0.0135
 17 , 
x Rex 2 Rex1 7
Assuming that laminar flow exists along the initial portion of the plate, the total drag on a plate of width w would be

Total Drag

The drag coefficient is CD

0.664 0.027
C f ,lam  C f ,turb 
Rex1 2 Rex1 7
(2) Prandtl-von Kármán Model
 Universal Turbulent Temperature Profile

(i) Near-Wall Profile

and

T  c p uT 
  
y q0''    H 
 c p uT
temperature wall coordinate T    Ts  T 
q0''

dividing point between the conduction and

and outer layers
(iii) Fully Turbulent Region

White reports a correlation that can be used for any fluid with
 Momentum and Heat Transfer Analogies Osborne Reynolds was the first to discover a link
between momentum and heat transfer, in a study on
(i) Reynolds Analogy
the behavior of turbulent flow inside steam boilers.
In his work, published in 1874, he theorized that the
heat transfer and the frictional resistance in a pipe
are proportional to each other.
If we can measure or predict the friction along a
wall or pipe, we can determine the heat transfer
simply by using a multiplying factor.
This approach would allow us to solve for the heat
transfer directly, avoiding the difficulty of solving
the energy equation.

Substituting
 Both equations can be identical if, which is possible under two conditions

This condition limits the analogy to fluids with Pr = 1.

and

The second condition is if the eddy diffusivities are equal

This assumption also means that the turbulent Prandtl number Prt = 1
 is constant throughout the boundary layer

This means we can represent this ratio by the same ratio at the wall,

Stanton number

Reynold’s analogy is limited to Pr = 1 fluids

2. Prandtl-Taylor analogy
Very close to the wall (the viscous sublayer), molecular effects dominate:
While turbulent effects dominate further away from the wall,
The boundary conditions for viscous sublayer are:

For analogy to hold good normalize by:

(1)

The boundary conditions for outer layer are:

For analogy to hold good normalize by:

(2)
Adding (1) and (2):

is chosen to approximate the edge of the viscous sublayer

 3. von Kármán Analogy
(extended the Reynolds analogy even further
to include a third layer – a buffer layer –
between the viscous sublayer and outer layer)

4. Colburn Analogy
(empirical fit of available experimental data)

 Momentum-heat transfer analogies are frequently used to develop heat transfer models for many types of flows and
geometries
 Although derived for a flat plate, these analogies are considered generally valid for slender bodies, where the pressure
gradient does not vary greatly from zero
 They are approximately valid for internal flows in circular pipes as well, although other analogies have been developed
specifically for internal flow
 Also, although they are derived assuming constant wall temperature, the above correlations work reasonably well even for
constant heat flux
 The turbulent Prandtl number seems to be affected slightly by pressure gradient, though largely unaffected by surface
roughness or the presence of boundary layer suction or blowing. A value of Prt = 0.85 is considered reasonable for most
flows
Average Nusselt Number on Flat Plate

White’s model for turbulent flow and apply them to Colburn’s analogy
Turbulent flow over a flat plate, where a portion of the leading surface is unheated