Turbulent Flow Near a Rough Wall

Abstract

By introducing the equivalent roughness which is defined as the distance from the wall to where the velocity gets a certain value (u/uτ ≈ 8.5) and which can be represented by a simple function of the roughness, a simple formula to represent the mean-velocity distribution across the inner layer of a turbulent boundary layer is suggested. The suggested equation is general enough to be applicable to turbulent boundary layers over surfaces of any roughnesses covering from very smooth to completely rough surfaces. The suggested velocity profile is then used to get expressions for pipe-friction factors and skin friction coefficients. These equations are consistent with existing experimental observations and embrace well-known equations (e.g., Prandtl’s friction law for smooth pipes and Colebrook’s formula etc.) as special cases.