A Discrete Element Prediction Approach for Turbulent Flow Over Rough Surfaces

Abstract

A discrete element model for turbulent flow over rough surfaces has been rigorously derived from basic principles. This model includes surface roughness effects as a constitutent part of the partial differential equations which describe momentum and energy transport in turbulent flows. The model includes the necessary empirical information on the interaction between the roughness elements and the flow around and between the elements in a general way which does not require experimental data on each specific surface. This empirical information is input via algebraic models for the local element drag coefficient and Nusselt number. These models were calibrated by comparison with base data sets from surfaces with three-dimensional (distributed) roughness elements. Calculations using the present model have been compared with experimental data from 118 separate experimental runs. The results of these comparisons ranged from good to excellent. The calculations compared equally well with both transitionally rough and fully rough turbulent flow results without modification of the roughness model.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADP004787

Entities

People

  • B. K. Hodge
  • Hugh W. Coleman
  • Robert P. Taylor

Organizations

  • Mississippi State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Data Sets
  • Differential Equations
  • Drag
  • Equations
  • Experimental Data
  • Flow
  • Heat Transfer
  • Layers
  • Measurement
  • Pressure Gradients
  • Skin Friction
  • Surface Roughness
  • Three Dimensional
  • Turbulent Boundary Layer
  • Turbulent Flow

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Fluid Dynamics.