This review considers theoretical and experimental knowledge of rough-wall turbulent boundary layers, drawing from both laboratory and atmospheric data. The former apply mainly to the region above the roughness sublayer (in which the roughness has a direct dynamical influence) whereas the latter resolve the structure of the roughness sublayer in some detail. Topics considered include the drag properties of rough surfaces as functions of the roughness geometry, the mean and turbulent velocity fields above the roughness sublayer, the properties of the flow close to and within the roughness canopy, and the nature of the organized motion in rough-wall boundary layers. Overall, there is strong support for the hypothesis of wall similarity: At sufficiently high Reynolds numbers, rough-wall and smooth-wall boundary layers have the same turbulence structure above the roughness (or viscous) sublayer, scaling with height, boundary-layer thickness, and friction velocity.
We study the drag force on discrete objects with circular cross section moving slowly through a spherical granular medium. Variations in the geometry of the dragged object change the drag force only by a small fraction relative to shape effects in fluid drag. The drag force depends quadratically on the object's diameter as expected. We do observe, however, a deviation above the expected linear depth dependence, and the magnitude of the deviation is apparently controlled by geometrical factors.
Measurements of space–time correlations of longitudinal and normal velocity fluctuations and of temperature fluctuations support the existence of counter-rotating spanwise structures appearing alternately on opposite sides of the jet centreline in the self-preserving region of the flow. The frequency of these structures closely satisfies self-preservation. The asymmetric arrangement of the structures is first observed downstream of the position where the jet mixing layers nominally merge but upstream of the onset of self-preservation. Closer to the jet exit, the space–time correlations indicate the existence of spanwise structures that are symmetrical about the centreline.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.