Nonasymptotic behavior of developing turbulent pipe flow

Abstract

Detailed measurements of mean velocity U profiles, in the inlet 70 diameters of a pipe, show that the development of turbulent pipe flow is nonasymptotic. Experiments were done at seven Reynolds numbers in the range 56 000–15 3000. Contours of U and V fields are presented for two representative Reynolds numbers. A U component peak exceeding the fully developed values has been found to occur along the pipe centerline. The Reynolds number behavior of the peak position has been determined. Hot film measurements of the mean wall shear stresses in the inlet region also show a nonasymptotic development consistent with the mean velocity results.