Boundary Layer - Turbulent Boundary Layers

Turbulent Boundary Layers

The treatment of turbulent boundary layers is far more difficult due to the time-dependent variation of the flow properties. One of the most widely used techniques in which turbulent flows are tackled is to apply Reynolds decomposition. Here the instantaneous flow properties are decomposed into a mean and fluctuating component. Applying this technique to the boundary layer equations gives the full turbulent boundary layer equations not often given in literature:

Using the same order-of-magnitude analysis as for the instantaneous equations, these turbulent boundary layer equations generally reduce to become in their classical form:

The additional term in the turbulent boundary layer equations is known as the Reynolds shear stress and is unknown a priori. The solution of the turbulent boundary layer equations therefore necessitates the use of a turbulence model, which aims to express the Reynolds shear stress in terms of known flow variables or derivatives. The lack of accuracy and generality of such models is a major obstacle in the successful prediction of turbulent flow properties in modern fluid dynamics.

A laminar sub-layer exists in the turbulent zone; it occurs due to those fluid molecules which are still in the very proximity of the surface, where the shear stress is maximum and the velocity of fluid molecules is zero.