UUM 509E SPRING 2017

Homework Problems I
Due March 3, 2017

1. Explain laminar to turbulent transition over a flat plate. Use graphical sketches as appropriate.

2. Sketch the velocity profiles for a laminar and a turbulent boundary layer. Explain physically
why they have different shapes.

3. Is the friction coefficient for a turbulent boundary layer greater than or less than that for a lami-
nar boundary layer? What is the approximate value of the ratio of the two in an incompressible
flow?

4. Consider a periodic motion in which the velocity at a fixed point in space "fluctuates" as a sum
of six sine waves of different frequencies. Is such a flow turbulent? Why, or why not?

5. According to kinetic theory the kinematic viscosity of an ideal gas may be estimated as a
where a is the speed of sound and is the molecular mean free path. Using this and other
relations presented in class, derive an expression for the ratio / in terms of the Mach number
(u/a) and the Reynolds number (ul/). Note that continuum assumptions break down if / (a
Knudsen number) is not much less than 1.0. Under what kinds of flow conditions would that
possibly happen?

6. Apply Reynolds averaging to the continuity equation for variable density turbulent flow, i.e.,
ui
+ = 0.
t xi