Law of the wall

In fluid dynamics, the law of the wall (also known as the logarithmic law of the wall) states that the average velocity of a turbulent flow at a certain point is proportional to the logarithm of the distance from that point to the "wall", or the boundary of the fluid region. This law of the wall was first published in 1930 by Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist Theodore von Kármán.^[1] It is only technically applicable to parts of the flow that are close to the wall (<20% of the height of the flow), though it is a good approximation for the entire velocity profile of natural streams.^[2]

law of the wall, horizontal velocity near the wall with mixing length model

General logarithmic formulation

The logarithmic law of the wall is a self similar solution for the mean velocity parallel to the wall, and is valid for flows at high Reynolds numbers — in an overlap region with approximately constant shear stress and far enough from the wall for (direct) viscous effects to be negligible:^[3]

${\displaystyle u^{+}={\frac {1}{\kappa }}\ln \,y^{+}+C^{+},}$   with   ${\displaystyle y^{+}={\frac {y\,u_{\tau }}{\nu }},}$   ${\displaystyle u_{\tau }={\sqrt {\frac {\tau _{w}}{\rho }}}}$   and   ${\displaystyle u^{+}={\frac {u}{u_{\tau }}}}$

where

${\displaystyle y^{+}}$	is the wall coordinate: the distance y to the wall, made dimensionless with the friction velocity uτ and kinematic viscosity ν,
${\displaystyle u^{+}}$	is the dimensionless velocity: the velocity u parallel to the wall as a function of y (distance from the wall), divided by the friction velocity uτ,
${\displaystyle \tau _{w}}$	is the wall shear stress,
${\displaystyle \rho }$	is the fluid density,
${\displaystyle u_{\tau }}$	is called the friction velocity or shear velocity,
${\displaystyle \kappa }$	is the Von Kármán constant,
${\displaystyle C^{+}}$	is a constant, and
${\displaystyle \ln }$	is the natural logarithm.

From experiments, the von Kármán constant is found to be ${\displaystyle \kappa \approx 0.41}$ and ${\displaystyle C^{+}\approx 5.0}$ for a smooth wall.^[3]

With dimensions, the logarithmic law of the wall can be written as:^[4]

${\displaystyle {u}={\frac {u_{\tau }}{\kappa }}\ln \,{\frac {y}{y_{0}}}\ }$

where y₀ is the distance from the boundary at which the idealized velocity given by the law of the wall goes to zero. This is necessarily nonzero because the turbulent velocity profile defined by the law of the wall does not apply to the laminar sublayer. The distance from the wall at which it reaches zero is determined by comparing the thickness of the laminar sublayer with the roughness of the surface over which it is flowing. For a near-wall laminar sublayer of thickness ${\displaystyle \delta _{\nu }}$ and a characteristic roughness length-scale ${\displaystyle k_{s}}$,^[2]

${\displaystyle k_{s}<\delta _{\nu }\,}$	: hydraulically smooth flow,
${\displaystyle k_{s}\approx \delta _{\nu }\,}$	: transitional flow,
${\displaystyle k_{s}>\delta _{\nu }\,}$	: hydraulically rough flow.

Intuitively, this means that if the roughness elements are hidden within the laminar sublayer, they have a much different effect on the turbulent law of the wall velocity profile than if they are sticking out into the main part of the flow.

This is also often more formally formulated in terms of a boundary Reynolds number, ${\displaystyle Re_{w}}$, where

${\displaystyle Re_{w}={\frac {u_{\tau }k_{s}}{\nu }}.\ }$

The flow is hydraulically smooth for ${\displaystyle Re_{w}<3}$, hydraulically rough for ${\displaystyle Re_{w}>100}$, and transitional for intermediate values.^[2]

Values for ${\displaystyle y_{0}}$ are given by:^[2][5]

${\displaystyle y_{0}={\frac {\nu }{9u_{\tau }}}}$	for hydraulically smooth flow
${\displaystyle y_{0}={\frac {k_{s}}{30}}}$	for hydraulically rough flow.

Intermediate values are generally given by the empirically derived Nikuradse diagram,^[2] though analytical methods for solving for this range have also been proposed.^[6]

For channels with a granular boundary, such as natural river systems,

${\displaystyle k_{s}\approx 3.5D_{84},\ }$

where ${\displaystyle D_{84}}$ is the average diameter of the 84th largest percentile of the grains of the bed material.^[7]

Power law solutions

Works by Barenblatt and others have shown that besides the logarithmic law of the wall — the limit for infinite Reynolds numbers — there exist power-law solutions, which are dependent on the Reynolds number.^[8][9] In 1996, Cipra submitted experimental evidence in support of these power-law descriptions.^[10] This evidence itself has not been fully accepted by other experts.^[11] In 2001, Oberlack claimed to have derived both the logarithmic law of the wall, as well as power laws, directly from the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, exploiting the symmetries in a Lie group approach.^[3][12] However, in 2014, Frewer et al.^[13] refuted these results.

For scalars

For scalars (most notably temperature), the self-similar logarithmic law of the wall has been theorized (first formulated by B. A. Kader^[14]) and observed in experimental and computational studies.^{[15][16][17][18]} In many cases, extensions to the original law of the wall formulation (usually through integral transformations) are generally needed to account for compressibility, variable-property and real fluid effects.

Near the wall

Below the region where the law of the wall is applicable, there are other estimations for friction velocity.^[19]

Viscous sublayer

In the region known as the viscous sublayer, below 5 wall units, the variation of ${\displaystyle u^{+}}$ to ${\displaystyle y^{+}}$ is approximately 1:1, such that:

For  ${\displaystyle y^{+}<5}$

${\displaystyle u^{+}=y^{+}}$

where,

${\displaystyle y^{+}}$	is the wall coordinate: the distance y to the wall, made dimensionless with the friction velocity ${\displaystyle u_{\tau }}$ and kinematic viscosity ${\displaystyle \nu }$,
${\displaystyle u^{+}}$	is the dimensionless velocity: the velocity u parallel to the wall as a function of y (distance from the wall), divided by the friction velocity ${\displaystyle u_{\tau }}$,

This approximation can be used farther than 5 wall units, but by ${\displaystyle y^{+}=12}$ the error is more than 25%.

Buffer layer

In the buffer layer, between 5 wall units and 30 wall units, neither law holds, such that:

For  ${\displaystyle 5<y^{+}<30}$

${\displaystyle u^{+}\neq y^{+}}$

${\displaystyle u^{+}\neq {\frac {1}{\kappa }}\ln \,y^{+}+C^{+}}$

with the largest variation from either law occurring approximately where the two equations intersect, at ${\displaystyle y^{+}=11}$. That is, before 11 wall units the linear approximation is more accurate and after 11 wall units the logarithmic approximation should be used, though neither are relatively accurate at 11 wall units.

The mean streamwise velocity profile ${\displaystyle u^{+}}$ is improved for ${\displaystyle y^{+}<20}$ with an eddy viscosity formulation based on a near-wall turbulent kinetic energy ${\displaystyle \kappa ^{+}}$ function and the van Driest mixing length equation. Comparisons with DNS data of fully developed turbulent channel flows for ${\displaystyle 109<Re_{\tau }<2003}$ showed good agreement.^[20]

Notes

1. von Kármán, Th. (1930), "Mechanische Ähnlichkeit und Turbulenz", Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Fachgruppe 1 (Mathematik), 5: 58–76 (also as: “Mechanical Similitude and Turbulence”, Tech. Mem. NACA, no. 611, 1931).
2. Mohrig, David (2004). "Conservation of Mass and Momentum" (PDF). 12.110: Sedimentary Geology, Fall 2004. MIT OCW. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
3. Schlichting & Gersten (2000) pp. 522–524.
4. Schlichting & Gersten (2000) p. 530.
5. Whipple, Kelin (2004). "Hydraulic Roughness" (PDF). 12.163: Surface processes and landscape evolution. MIT OCW. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
6. Le Roux, J.P. (2004), "An integrated law of the wall for hydrodynamically transitional flow over plane beds", Sedimentary Geology, 163 (3–4): 311–321, Bibcode:2004SedG..163..311L, doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2003.07.005
7. Haws, Benjamin. "Equivalent sand roughness of Nikuradse (ks)". Retrieved 2009-03-27.^{[dead link]}
8. Lynn Yarris. "A flaw in the law". Berkeley Lab: Highlights 97–98. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.
9. Barenblatt, G.I. (1993), "Scaling laws for fully developed turbulent shear flows. Part 1. Basic hypotheses and analysis", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 248: 513–520, Bibcode:1993JFM...248..513B, doi:10.1017/S0022112093000874, S2CID 123639410
   Barenblatt, G.I.; Prostokishin, V.M. (1993), "Scaling laws for fully developed turbulent shear flows. Part 2. Processing of experimental data", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 248: 521–529, Bibcode:1993JFM...248..521B, doi:10.1017/S0022112093000886, S2CID 121328837
   Barenblatt, G.I.; Goldenfeld, N. (1995), "Does fully developed turbulence exist? Reynolds number independence versus asymptotic covariance", Physics of Fluids, 7 (12): 3078–3084, arXiv:cond-mat/9507132, Bibcode:1995PhFl....7.3078B, doi:10.1063/1.868685, S2CID 15138376
   Barenblatt, G. I.; Chorin, A. J. (1998), "Scaling laws and vanishing-viscosity limits for wall-bounded shear flows and for local structure in developed turbulence", Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics, 50 (4): 381–398, doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0312(199704)50:4<381::AID-CPA5>3.0.CO;2-6
10. Cipra, Barry Arthur (May 1996), "A New Theory of Turbulence Causes a Stir Among Experts", Science, 272 (5264): 951, Bibcode:1996Sci...272..951C, doi:10.1126/science.272.5264.951, S2CID 117371905
11. Zagarola, M.V.; Perry, A.E.; Smits, A.J. (1997), "Log Laws or Power Laws: The Scaling in the Overlap Region", Physics of Fluids, 9 (7): 2094–2100, Bibcode:1997PhFl....9.2094Z, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.503.989, doi:10.1063/1.869328
12. Oberlack, Martin (2001), "A unified approach for symmetries in plane parallel turbulent shear flows", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 427 (1): 299–328, Bibcode:2001JFM...427..299O, doi:10.1017/S0022112000002408, S2CID 122979735
13. Frewer, Michael; Khujadze, George; Foysi, Holger (2014), Is the log-law a first principle result from Lie-group invariance analysis?, pp. 1–32, arXiv:1412.3069, Bibcode:2014arXiv1412.3069F
14. Kader, B. A. (1981-09-01). "Temperature and concentration profiles in fully turbulent boundary layers". International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. 24 (9): 1541–1544. doi:10.1016/0017-9310(81)90220-9. ISSN 0017-9310.
15. Simonich, J. C.; Bradshaw, P. (1978-11-01). "Effect of Free-Stream Turbulence on Heat Transfer through a Turbulent Boundary Layer". Journal of Heat Transfer. 100 (4): 671–677. doi:10.1115/1.3450875. ISSN 0022-1481.
16. Patel, Ashish; Boersma, Bendiks J.; Pecnik, Rene (2017-08-21). "Scalar statistics in variable property turbulent channel flows". Physical Review Fluids. 2 (8): 084604. Bibcode:2017PhRvF...2h4604P. doi:10.1103/PhysRevFluids.2.084604.
17. Toki, Takahiko; Teramoto, Susumu; Okamoto, Koji (2020-01-01). "Velocity and Temperature Profiles in Turbulent Channel Flow at Supercritical Pressure". Journal of Propulsion and Power. 36 (1): 3–13. doi:10.2514/1.B37381. S2CID 209963353.
18. Guo, J.; Yang, X. I. A.; Ihme, M. (March 2022). "Structure of the thermal boundary layer in turbulent channel flows at transcritical conditions". Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 934. Bibcode:2022JFM...934A..45G. doi:10.1017/jfm.2021.1157. ISSN 0022-1120.
19. Turbulent Flows (2000) pp. 273–274.Pope, Stephen (2000), Turbulent Flows (1st revised ed.), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59125-2
20. Absi, Rafik (2009), "A simple eddy viscosity formulation for turbulent boundary layers near smooth walls", Comptes Rendus Mécanique, 337 (3): 158–165, arXiv:1106.0985, Bibcode:2009CRMec.337..158A, doi:10.1016/j.crme.2009.03.010, S2CID 40907005

References

• Chanson, H. (2009), Applied Hydrodynamics: An Introduction to Ideal and Real Fluid Flows, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Leiden, The Netherlands, 478 pages, ISBN 978-0-415-49271-3
• Schlichting, Hermann; Gersten, K. (2000), Boundary-layer Theory (8th revised ed.), Springer, ISBN 3-540-66270-7

Further reading

• Buschmann, Matthias H.; Gad-el-Hak, Mohamed (2009), "Evidence of nonlogarithmic behavior of turbulent channel and pipe flow", AIAA Journal, 47 (3): 535, Bibcode:2009AIAAJ..47..535B, doi:10.2514/1.37032

External links

• Definition from ScienceWorld
• Formula on CFD Online
• Y+ estimator
• ThermoTurb – A turbulent mean flow calculator