An Experimental Study of Skewed Turbulent Boundary Layers in Low Speed Flows

Abstract

A detailed experimental investigation is described for the flow of air in skewed turbulent boundary layers on the floor of various curved channels. Measurements of time average velocities, flow directions, turbulence intensities, and growth are made for both the development and decay of the skewed boundary layer. All measurements were made with a unique hot wire probe arrangement. Tests were run with a free stream Reynolds number of approximately one million per ft and a free stream turbulence intensity of approximately 0.0016. The boundary layer was of the order of one inch in thickness. Both the turbulence intensity and velocity profiles indicate that the inner and outer regions, characteristic of two-dimensional profiles, are not necessarily appropriate to skewed three-dimensional flows.