The Importance of the Mean Elevation in Predicting Skin Friction for Flow Over Closely Packed Surface Roughness

Abstract

The discrete-element surface roughness model is used to provide insight into the importance of the mean elevation of surface roughness in predicting skin friction over rough surfaces. Comparison of experimental data and extensive computational results using the discrete-element model confirm that the appropriate surface for the imposition of the no-slip condition is the mean elevation of the surface roughness. Additionally, the use of the mean elevation in the Sigal-Danberg approach relating their parameter to the equivalent sand-grain roughness height results in replacing three different piecewise expressions with a single relation. The appropriate mean elevation for closely-packed spherical roughness is also examined.