Pressure Fluctuations on the Surface of a Hemisphere Immersed in a Thick Turbulent Boundary Layer

Abstract

Statistical properties of pressure fluctuations on the surface of a hemisphere immersed in a thick turbulent boundary layer are described. The height of the hemisphere tested was 0.275 thicknesses of the boundary layer. Reynolds number based on the model diameter D and the time-mean approaching flow velocity at the level of the top Ur was 3.0 × 105 . Time-mean and root-mean-square (rms) values, probability density and power spectra of the pressure fluctuations are presented and discussed. The pressure fluctuations are related to the fluctuating approaching-flow velocity in terms of the pressure-velocity admittance and the cross correlation. Main results are that the time-mean and rms pressures attained a primary maximum at the front stagnation point; that the pressure-velocity admittance near the front stagnation point was approximately unity at frequencies less than about 0.4 Ur /D; that the pressure fluctuation in front of the hemisphere is positively correlated with that in the rear side and negatively correlated with that in the middle.