Reynolds stress scaling in the near-wall region of wall-bounded flows

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new Reynolds stress scaling law for near-wall turbulence in wall-bounded flows, revealing the influence of wall shear stress fluctuations and large eddies on turbulence behavior across different flow types.

Contribution

A novel scaling law for Reynolds stresses in near-wall turbulence that is independent of Reynolds number and highlights the role of wall shear stress fluctuations.

Findings

Reynolds stress profiles become Reynolds number independent with the new scaling.

Wall shear stress fluctuations significantly influence near-wall turbulence.

Large eddies determine the Reynolds number dependence of turbulence behavior.

Abstract

A new scaling is derived that yields a Reynolds number independent profile for all components of the Reynolds stress in the near-wall region of wall bounded flows, including channel, pipe and boundary layer flows. The scaling demonstrates the important role played by the wall shear stress fluctuations and how the large eddies determine the Reynolds number dependence of the near-wall turbulence behavior.