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Friction Velocity
Eq 1
Eq 2
Eq 3
or units of velocity squared. We define a term called the friction velocity or shear
velocity:
Eq 4
Thus
Eq 5
Integrating
Eq 6
Velocity Fluctuations
Eq 8
Turbulence will give rise to velocity fluctuations in both the horizontal (velocity u)
and vertical (velocity w) directions characterized by u' and w'.
The associated momentum fluctuation is called the turbulent stress or Reynolds stress.
Analogous to the viscous case, we can express the turbulent stress as being the
product of eddy viscosity, Av and the shear:
Eq 9
Eq 10
Prandtl hypothesized that turbulent fluctuations should act over some correlation
scale l so that
Eq 11
Thus
Eq 12
von Karman further hypothesized that the correlation scale should be proportional to
the distance from the boundary:
Eq 13
where kappa is von Karman's constant, the turbulent momentum exchange coefficient.
By experiment kappa has been found to be 0.41.
Eq 14
Integrating:
Eq 15
Eq 16
We can now develop the structure of the boundary layer. Very near to the boundary
where viscous forces dominate there may be a viscous sub-layer where equation 1
applies. Whether this viscous sub-layer exists depends on whether the boundary is
smooth or rough. If it is rough it will generate turbulence at the boundary so that
turbulent forces become more important than viscous forces.
The roughness is characterized by a dimensionless number
Eq 17
where ks is a length scale of the roughness elements (which may be due to grain
roughness of the surface, ripple patterns, or fluid stratification)
When R* is less than 5, the flow is said to be hydrodynamically smooth (HSF), when
R* is greater than 70 the flow is said to be hydrodynamically rough (HRF), when
between 5 and 70 the flow is transitional.
The value of z0 for HSF and HRF have been established by experiment. For HSF:
Eq 18
For HRF:
Eq 19
To summarize:
The most common way in which u* and z0 are measured is by determing the velocity
profile above a boundary. The profile is fit to the Law of the Wall and the parameters
from the fit used to decide whether the flow is HSF or HRF.
Eq 20