Properties of the kinetic energy budgets in wall-bounded turbulent flows

Abstract

Available high-quality numerical simulation data are used to investigate and characterize the kinetic energy budgets for fully developed turbulent flow in pipes and channels, and in the zero-pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer. The mean kinetic energy equation in these flows is empirically and analytically shown to respectively exhibit the same four-layer leading-order balance structure as the mean momentum equation. This property of the mean kinetic energy budget provides guidance on how to group terms in the more complicated turbulence and total kinetic energy budgets. Under the suggested grouping, the turbulence budget shows either a two- or three-layer structure (depending on chan..