A DIMENSIONLESS SOLUTION FOR THE WIND AND TEMPERATURE PROFILES IN THE SURFACE BOUNDARY LAYER,

Abstract

The shape of the wind and temperature profiles in the surface boundary layer of the atmosphere for thermally stratified flow is presented as dimensionless parameters. The development of the hypothesis follows dynamic similarity as applied to the atmosphere near the earth's surface. The approach used for thermally stratified unstable flow assumes the scaling ratio, z/L, is numerically equivalent to the gradient Richardson number, Ri. In stable air, z/L is taken as a function of Ri. The Richardson number is considered to be the sole controlling parameter of similarity in the surface boundary layer over a large stability range from approximately Ri = -5.0 to Ri = 0.204. A Richardson number of 0.204 is taken to be the nominal critical value at which turbulence experiences a complete decay and denotes the onset of undulance. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1969
Accession Number
AD0697109

Entities

People

  • Frank V. Hansen
  • Juana Serna

Organizations

  • Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheres
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Boundary Layer Transition
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Layers
  • Richardson Number
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Turbulence

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.