Rough-wall boundary layers: mean flow universality

Abstract

Mean flow profiles, skin friction, and integral parameters for boundary layers developing naturally over a wide variety of fully aerodynamically rough surfaces are presented and discussed. The momentum thickness Reynolds numberReθextends to values in excess of 47000 and, unlike previous work, a very wide range of the ratio of roughness element height to boundary-layer depth is covered (0.03 <h/δ > 0.5). Comparisons are made with some classical formulations based on the assumption of a universal two-parameter form for the mean velocity profile, and also with other recent measurements. It is shown that appropriately re-written versions of the former can be used to collapse all the data, irrespective of the nature of the roughness, unless the surface is very rough, meaning that the typical roughness element height exceeds some 50% of the boundary-layer momentum thickness, corresponding to about$h/\delta\,{\widetilde{>}}\,0.2$.