Properties of turbulent channel flow similarity solutions

Abstract

High resolution direct numerical simulation (DNS) data are used to investigate properties of similarity solutions for the mean velocity and Reynolds shear stress in turbulent channel flow. The analysis uses the method of Fife et al. (Multiscale Model. Simul., vol. 4, 2005, p. 936) for determining the asymptotic scaling properties of indeterminate equations. Subject to its primary assumption, the analysis yields an invariant form of the mean momentum equation that is valid over a significant portion of the flow domain. Because the requisite coordinate transformations yield a self-similar relationship between scaled wall-normal derivatives of and, this procedure inherently closes the mean equa..