UEME3112

Fluid Mechanics II

Chapter 4
Turbulent Boundary Layers

Fluid Mechanics II 1
How Does Turbulence Look?

The Onset of Two-Dimensional Grid Generated Turbulence in Flowing Soap

Films. Maarten A. Rutgers, Xiao-lun Wu, and Walter I. Goldberg

Fluid Mechanics II 2
Laminar and Turbulent Boundary Layer

Fluid Mechanics II 3
Flow over bodies is commonly encountered in practice.

Fluid Mechanics II 4
Fluid Mechanics II 5
 Outlines
◼ Characteristics of Turbulent Flow
❑ Characteristics of Turbulent Flow
❑ Eddy
◼ Reynolds’ Time-Averaging
Concept
❑ Time-averaged Continuity Equation
❑ Time-average Momentum Balance
❑ Turbulent Shear Stress
◼ Turbulent Velocity Profile
❑ Turbulent Velocity Profile
❑ Turbulent Boundary Layer
❑ Drag Force and Roughness
◼ Momentum Integral Equation

Fluid Mechanics II 6
Some Applications

◼ Gas flow in long-distance pipelines

◼ Liquid flow in heat exchangers
◼ Blood flow in the heart
◼ Combustion of gases
◼ Industrial reactors
◼ Wake of a water near the columnn of a bridge.
◼ Dispersion of Smoke in the atmosphere.
◼ … etc

Fluid Mechanics II 7
Characteristics of Turbulent Flow

Characteristics of Turbulent Flow

Eddy

Fluid Mechanics II 8
Why Turbulent?
◼ Turbulent flow is a complex mechanism dominated by fluctuations.
◼ Most flows encountered in engineering practice are turbulent.
◼ Why turbulent? Examples:
❑ Increased turbulence is needed in chemical mixing or heat transfer
when fluids with dissimilar properties are brought together.
❑ turbulence increases drag due to increased frictional forces.
◼ We must rely on experiments and the empirical or semi-empirical
correlations developed for various situations.

8.4 Stirring color into paint (Laminar)

8.5 Laminar & Turbulent mixing

8.6 Stirring cream into coffee (turbulent)

Fluid Mechanics II 9
What Is Turbulent Flow?
◼ Turbulent flow is characterized by random and rapid fluctuations
of swirling regions of fluid, called eddies, throughout the flow.
◼ These fluctuations provide an additional mechanism for
momentum and energy transfer.
◼ In laminar flow, momentum and energy are transferred across
streamlines by molecular diffusion.
◼ In turbulent flow, the swirling eddies transport mass, momentum,
and energy to other regions of flow much more rapidly than
molecular diffusion, such that associated with much higher
values of friction, heat transfer, and mass transfer coefficients.

The intense mixing in turbulent flow

brings fluid particles at different
momentums into close contact and thus
enhances momentum transfer.

Fluid Mechanics II 10
Turbulent Eddies
◼ At low Re, viscous effects dominate, and will dampen out any small
perturbations in the flow.
◼ At higher Re, there is an amplification of small perturbations,
leading to superimposed eddies, being regions that are typically
rotating and hence have vorticity.
◼ Roughly speaking, there is a “cascade” of energy from the large
scale to the smallest scales. This happens because the large
eddies interact with each other and breakdown into smaller eddies
which are the ones where the energy is dissipated.
◼ The smallest scales are called the “Kolmogorov” scales (). At
these scales, the Reynolds number of the eddies is small enough
that viscous effects become dominant and the energy is dissipated
by converting the mechanical energy into heat (by the action of
viscosity).
The Kolmorogov limit is reached when the length scale is sufficiently small
that the fluctuations do finally look smooth.

Fluid Mechanics II 11
Large-scale vs Small-scale Structure

Fluid Mechanics II 12
Characteristics of Turbulent Flow
◼ Unsteadiness: Turbulence is always transient.
◼ Three-dimensional vorticity fluctuations (rotational):
Turbulence is rotational, and vorticity dynamics plays an
important role. Energy is transferred from large to small
scale by the interaction of vortices.
◼ Irregularity: Turbulence is random and irregular.
◼ Diffusivitity: The rapid mixing of momentum, heat, and
mass is a typical feature of turbulent flows.
◼ Dissipation: The kinetic energy of turbulent motion is
dissipated into heat under the influence of viscosity.
◼ Reynolds Number: Turbulence occurs at high Re.

Fluid Mechanics II 13
Reynolds’ Time-Averaging Concept

Time-averaged Continuity Equation

Time-average Momentum Balance
Turbulent Shear Stress

Fluid Mechanics II 14
Continuity And Momentum Equations

◼ We assume constant density and viscosity and no

thermal interaction, so that only the continuity and
momentum equations are to be solved for velocity and
pressure.

u v w
Continuity : + + =0
x y z
(1)
DVˆ
Momentum :  = −p + gˆ +  2Vˆ
Dt

subject to no-slip condition at the walls and known inlet

and exit conditions.

Fluid Mechanics II 15
Reynolds’ Time-Averaging Concept

◼ For turbulent flow, because of fluctuations, every velocity

and pressure term in Eq (1) is a rapidly varying random
function of time and space.
◼ Current mathematics cannot handle such instantaneous
fluctuating variables.
◼ Our attention as engineers is toward the mean values of
velocity, pressure, shear stress, and the like in a high-Re
(turbulent) flow.
◼ This approach led Osborne Reynolds in 1885 to rewrite
Eq (1) in terms of mean or time-averaged turbulent
variables.

Fluid Mechanics II 16
Reynolds’ Time-Averaging Concept

◼ The time mean u of a

turbulent function u(x, y, z, t)
u = u + u'
is defined by
1 T
u =  udt
T 0

where T is an averaging
period taken to be longer
than any significant period of
the fluctuations themselves.
◼ The mean values of turbulent fluctuating
mean
velocity and pressure are
illustrated as the rhs figure.

Fluid Mechanics II 17
Reynolds’ Time-Averaging Concept
◼ The fluctuation u’ is defined as the deviation of u from its
average value:
u' = u − u

◼ The time averages of the fluctuations are zero:

they are equally likely to be above and to fall below the
mean. 1 T
u ' =  (u − u )dt = u − u = 0
T 0
◼ However, the mean square of a fluctuation is not zero
and is a measure of the intensity of the turbulence:
1 T 2
u ' =  u ' dt  0
2

T 0

Fluid Mechanics II 18
 Reynolds’ Time-Averaging Concept
◼ The time averages of the mean quantities are the mean quantities
themselves:
u =u
◼ The intensity of the turbulence is typically in the range:

u~ '
~ 0.01 to 0.1
u
in which the root-mean-square of the fluctuating velocity component is
defined as

u~' ~ u '2
The larger the turbulence velocity, the larger the fluctuations of velocity (&
other parameters)

◼ In general, the mean fluctuation products are NOT zero in a typical turbulent
flow.
u ' v'  0

Fluid Mechanics II 19
Time-averaged Continuity Equation
◼ Reynolds’ idea was to split each property into mean plus fluctuating
variables.
◼ Substitute these into Eq (1), and take the time mean of each
equation. A representative term is
 (u + u ' )  (u + u ' )  (u + u ') u
= = =
x x x x
❑ The time average of the partial derivative of a quantity equals the partial
derivative of the time average of that quantity.
❑ The time average of the sum of two quantities equals the sum of their
individual time averages.
❑ The time average of a mean quantity is that mean quantity itself.
❑ The time average of a fluctuating component is zero.
◼ Time-averaged continuity equation: u v w
+ + =0
x y z
which is no difference from a laminar continuity relation, except that
the time-averaged velocities replace the instantaneous velocities.

Fluid Mechanics II 20
Time-averaged Momentum Balances
◼ However, each component of the momentum equation,
after time averaging, will contain mean values plus
three mean products, or correlations, of fluctuating
velocities.
◼ The most important of these is the momentum relation
in the main stream, or x-direction, which takes the form
Du p   u 
 = − + g x +   −  u '2 
Dx x x  x 
  u    u 
+   −  u ' v'  +   −  u ' w' 
y  y  z  z 

Fluid Mechanics II 21
Time-averaged Momentum Balances
The three correlation terms −  u ' , −  u ' v' and −  u ' w'
2
◼

are called turbulent stresses or Reynolds stress

because they have the same dimensions and occur
right alongside the Newtonian (laminar) stress terms
and so on.
◼ The time-averaged momentum balance is the same as
the original (instantaneous) momentum balance, except
that:
❑ Time-averaged values have replaced the original instantaneous
values.
❑ Additional turbulent stresses have now appeared on the rhs, and
represent the transport of momentum due to turbulent velocity
fluctuations.

Fluid Mechanics II 22
Time-averaged Momentum Balances

◼ The turbulent stresses are unknown a priori and must be

related by experiment to geometry and flow conditions.
◼ Fortunately, in duct and boundary layer flow, the stress
−  u 'v' , associated with direction y normal to the wall is
dominant, and we can approximate with excellent
accuracy a simpler streamwise momentum equation:
Du p 
  − + g x +
Dx x x
u
where  =  −  u ' v' =  lam +  turb
y
8.7 Turbulence in a bowl

Fluid Mechanics II 23
Turbulent Shear Stress
◼ The total shear stress consists of two parts: the laminar
component, and the turbulent component, i.e.,
 total =  lam +  turb
The laminar component: accounts for the friction between
layers in the flow direction
The turbulent component: accounts for the friction between
the fluctuating fluid particles and the fluid body (related to the
fluctuation components of velocity).

Typical average velocity profile & relative

magnitudes of laminar & turbulent
components of shear stress for turbulent
flow in a pipe.

Fluid Mechanics II 24
Turbulent Shear Stress
◼ Consider turbulent flow in a
horizontal pipe, and the upward
eddy motion of fluid particles in a
layer of lower velocity to an
adjacent layer of higher velocity
through a differential area dA as a
result of the velocity fluctuation v’.
◼ The mass flow rate of the fluid
particles rising through dA is v' dA ,
and its net effect on the layer
above dA is a reduction in its
average flow velocity because of
momentum transfer to the fluid
particles with lower average flow
velocity.

Fluid Mechanics II 25
Turbulent Shear Stress
◼ This momentum transfer causes the horizontal velocity of
these fluid particles to increase by u’, and so its momentum in
the horizontal direction to increase at a rate of (v' dA)u ' ,
which must be equal to the decrease in the momentum of the
upper fluid layer.
◼ The force in a given direction is equal to the rate of change of
momentum in that direction.
◼ The horizontal force acting on a fluid element above dA due
to the passing of fluid particles through dA
is F = (v' dA)(− u ') .
◼ The shear force per unit area due to the eddy motion of fluid
particles F / dA = − u ' v' can be viewed as the instantaneous
turbulent shear stress.

Fluid Mechanics II 26
Turbulent Shear Stress
◼ Then, the turbulent shear stress or turbulent stresses
can be expressed as
 turb = −  u ' v' Note: u ' v'  0 u ' = 0 v' = 0 u 'v' = 0
◼ The bar over these terms denotes the product of u’v’
averaged over a period of time. The expression for
turbulent shear stress is not very useful in this form.
◼ Experimental results show that u 'v' is usually a negative
quantity.
◼ Turbulence models have been developed to model the
Reynolds stress in terms of average velocity gradients.

Fluid Mechanics II 27
Total Shear Stress
◼ The total shear stress can thus be expressed conveniently as

where nt = t / is the kinematic eddy viscosity or kinematic

turbulent viscosity or the eddy diffusivity of momentum.
◼ The molecular diffusivity n is a fluid property (listed in
handbook).
◼ But eddy diffusivity nt is not a fluid properties, and its value
depends on flow conditions. Its value ranges from zero at the
wall to several thousands times the value of the molecular
diffusivity in the core region.

Fluid Mechanics II 28
Velocity Profiles Based on Mixing Length Theory
◼ Prandtl developed a theory to relate the turbulent shear stress to the
temporal mean velocity distribution.
◼ The fluctuating velocity component u’ is expressed as
du
u' = l
dy
❑ du/dy is the mean velocity gradient, and l is the distance the small
fluid mass travels in the transverse direction.
◼ Prandtl assumed that v' = u '
◼ The turbulent shear stress is expressed as
2
 du  du t  l
2 du
 turb = −  u ' v' = l   = t
2
 
dy
 dy  dy
t is the eddy viscosity or turbulent viscosity, which accounts for
momentum transport by turbulent eddies.

Fluid Mechanics II 29
Velocity Profiles Based on Mixing Length Theory
◼ Prandtl assumed that the mixing length is proportional to the distance
from the wall (l = y) for the region near the wall.
2
 du 
 turb =  y  
2 2

 dy 
◼ For the zone of flow near the boundary, the shear stress is uniform
and approximately equal to the shear stress at the wall.
 w /  dy
2
 du 
 w =  y  
2 2
du =
 dy   y
◼ Integrating and substituting u* for (w/)0.5
u 1
= ln y + C
u* 
◼ Since lny is fairly insensitive to changes in y, there is a fairly “flat”
turbulent velocity profile.

Fluid Mechanics II 30
Total Shear Stress

(a) Shear stress (b) Average velocity

◼ Laminar shear is dominant near the wall (the wall layer), and
turbulent shear dominates in the outer layer. There is an
intermediate region, called the overlap layer, where both laminar
and turbulent shear are important.

Fluid Mechanics II 31
Turbulent Velocity Profile

Turbulent Velocity Profile

Turbulent Boundary Layer
Drag Force and Roughness

Fluid Mechanics II 32
Turbulent Velocity Profile
The very thin layer next to the wall where viscous
effects are dominant is the viscous (or laminar or
linear or wall) sublayer. The velocity profile in this
layer is very nearly linear, and the flow is streamlined.
Because the no-slip condition forces the fluctuating
velocity components to zero at the wall, the turbulent
stresses are negligible compared to laminar ones.

Next to the viscous sublayer is the buffer layer, in

which turbulent effects are becoming significant, but
the flow is still dominated by viscous effects.

Above the buffer layer is the overlap (or transition)

layer, also called the inertial sublayer, in which the
turbulent effects are much more significant, but still
not dominant.

Above that is the outer (or turbulent) layer in the

remaining part of the flow in which turbulent effects
dominate over molecular diffusion (viscous) effects. It
accounts for 80-90% of the actual boundary layer
thickness.

8.8 Laminar to turbulent flow from a pipe

Fluid Mechanics II 33
8.9Laminar/turbulent velocity profiles
Turbulent Velocity Profile – Viscous Sublayer
◼ Now we drop the overbar from velocity u . Let w be the wall shear
stress, and let  and U represents the thickness and velocity at the
edge of the outer layer, y = .
◼ For the wall layer, Prandtl deduced that u must be independent of
the shear layer thickness:
u = f (  , w ,  , y )
◼ By dimensional analysis, this is equivalent to
1/ 2
+ u  yu *  +  w 
u = = F  = f (y ) u* =  
u*    
◼ The above equation is called the law of the wall, and the quantity u*
is termed the friction velocity because it has dimensions {LT-1},
although it is not actually a flow velocity.

Fluid Mechanics II 34
Viscous Sublayer
◼ The thickness of this sublayer is very small (typically, much less
than 1 % of the pipe diameter), but this thin layer behaves as a
Couette flow.
◼ The wall dampens any eddy motion, and thus the flow in this
layer is essentially laminar.
◼ The shear stress is constant and equals to the shear stress at
the wall. It consists of laminar shear stress which is proportional
to the fluid viscosity.
◼ The velocity profile in this layer to be very nearly linear.

Fluid Mechanics II 35
Viscous Sublayer
◼ The velocity gradient in the viscous sublayer remains nearly
constant at du/dy = u/y, and the wall shear stress can be expressed
as

where y (= R – r, R is the pipe radius) is the distance from the wall.

◼ The square root of w / has the dimensions of velocity, and is
called the friction velocity or shear velocity expressed as
or u* = uavg(f/8)1/2
◼ The velocity profile in the viscous sublayer can be expressed in
dimensionless form as
Velocity varies linearly!

Law of the wall

Fluid Mechanics II 36
Viscous Sublayer
◼ This equation is known as the law of the wall, and it is found to
satisfactorily correlate with experimental data for smooth surfaces
for 0  yu*/n  5 or 0  y+  5 .
◼ The thickness of the viscous sublayer is roughly

or sublayer = 11.6ν/u*
(three/four layers) (two layers, ignoring buffer layer)
where u is the flow velocity at the edge of the viscous sublayer.
◼ sublayer increases as w decreases in the downstream direction.
◼ sublayer decreases as the velocity (and thus the Re) increases
because the more vigorous turbulent eddies approach the wall
more closely. Consequently, the velocity profile becomes nearly flat
and thus the velocity distribution becomes more uniform at very
high Reynolds numbers.
Fluid Mechanics II 37
Viscous Sublayer
◼ The quantity n/u* is called the viscous length; it is used to
nondimensionalize the distance y from the surface;
◼ In boundary layer analysis, it is convenient to work with
nondimensionalized distance and nondimensionalized
velocity defined as

◼ Then the normalized law of wall becomes simply

Fluid Mechanics II 38
Overlap Layer
▪ In the overlap region, the velocity varies with the
logarithm of y, and the velocity profile:

(A)

where  and B are constants and determined

experimentally to be about 0.40-0.41 and 5.0-5.5,
respectively. Equation A is known as the logarithmic
law. Thus, the velocity profile is
u
= 2.5 ln
yu *
+ 5.0 u + = 2.5 ln y + + 5.0
u* 

Fluid Mechanics II 39
Overlap Layer
◼ The logarithmic law satisfactorily represents
experimental data for the entire flow except for the
regions very close to the wall and near the pipe center,
and viewed as a universal velocity profile for turbulent
flow in smooth pipes or over smooth surfaces.
◼ The logarithmic-law velocity profile is quite accurate for
y+ > 30.
◼ The logarithmic law is applicable for nearly all wall-
bounded turbulent boundary layers.

Fluid Mechanics II 40
Buffer Layer The nominal thickness of the
viscous sublayer is y = 11.6ν/u*
◼ Note from the figure that
the logarithmic-law velocity
profile is quite accurate for
y+ > 30, but neither 11.6
velocity profile is accurate
in the buffer layer, i.e., the
region 5 < y+ < 30.

u + = 5 ln y + − 3.05

Comparison of the law of the wall

and the logarithmic-law velocity
profiles with experimental data
for fully developed turbulent flow
in a pipe.

Fluid Mechanics II 41
Outer Turbulent Layer
◼ Kármán deduced that u in the outer layer is independent
of molecular viscosity, but its deviation from the free
stream velocity U must depend on the layer thickness
and the other properties:
(U − u)outer = g ( , w ,  , y)
◼ Again, by dimensional analysis, we rewrite this as

U −u  y
= G 
u*  

◼ The above equation is called the velocity defect law for

the outer layer.

Fluid Mechanics II 42
Outer Turbulent Layer
◼ If Eq. (A) is evaluated at the centerline (y = R and u =
umax), we get
(B)
Centerline velocity

◼ The deviation of velocity from the centerline value (umax –

u) is called the velocity defect, and Eq. B is called the
velocity defect law.
◼ It shows that the normalized velocity profile in the
turbulent layer for a pipe is independent of the viscosity of
the fluid, but is a function of the distance from the
centerline. The eddy motion is dominant in this region,
and the effect of fluid viscosity is negligible.
Fluid Mechanics II 43
Turbulent Velocity Profile wall law defect law
Outer law profiles
◼ Both the wall law and the
defect law are found to be
accurate for a wide variety of
experimental turbulent duct
and boundary layer flows.
◼ They are different in form, but
they must overlap smoothly
in the intermediate layer.
◼ In 1937 Millikan showed that
this can be true only if the < 2%
overlap layer velocity varies
logarithmically with y:
◼ Over the full range of
u 1 yu *
turbulent smooth wall flows, = ln +B
the constants B and  are u*  
approximately 5 and 0.41. Logarithmic law

Fluid Mechanics II 44
Example
◼ Air at 20C flows through a 14-cm-diameter tube under
fully developed conditions. The centerline velocity is u0 =
5 m/s. Estimate the friction velocity and the wall shear
stress.
◼ The turbulent pipe flow has u0 = 5 m/s at R = 7 cm. So,

u0 1 Ru * 5 1 0.07u *
= ln +B or = ln +5
u*   u * 0.41 1.5110 −5

◼ After iteration, we get friction velocity u*  0.228 m/s.

◼ The wall shear stress
w = u*2 = (1.205)(0.228)2  0.062 Pa.

Fluid Mechanics II 45
Spalding’s Law of the Wall
A clever expression that is valid all the way to the wall is
called Spalding’s law of the wall,

Fluid Mechanics II 46
Fluid Mechanics II 47
Fluid Mechanics II 48
Fluid Mechanics II 49
 Power-law Equation
◼ Numerous other empirical velocity profiles exist for turbulent pipe flow.
Among those, the simplest and the best known is the power-law
velocity profile (105 < Re < 107) expressed as

where the value of n increases with increasing Re. The value n = 7

generally approximates many flows in practice, giving rise to the term
one-seventh power-law velocity profile.

Figure 8.17

Fluid Mechanics II 50
 Power-law Equation
◼ Note that the turbulent velocity
profile is fuller than the laminar
one, and it becomes more flat as
n (and thus Re) increases.
◼ The power-law profile cannot be
used to calculate wall shear
stress since it gives a velocity
gradient of infinity there, and it
fails to give zero slope at the
centerline.
◼ But these regions of discrepancy
Power-law velocity profiles for fully
constitute a small portion of flow,
developed turbulent flow in a pipe for
and the power-law profile gives different exponents, and its comparison
highly accurate results for with the laminar velocity profile.
turbulent flow through a pipe.

Fluid Mechanics II 51
Example
◼ Water at 20°C flows through a horizontal pipe of 0.1-m diameter
with a flowrate of Q = 4×10-2 m3/s and a pressure gradient of 2.59
kPa/m.
Determine
a) the approximate thickness of the viscous sublayer
b) the approximate centerline velocity

a)

0.5 0.5
 w   Dp / 4l 
u* =   =   = 0.255 m/s
   
5n
 sublayer = = 0.02 mm
u*

Fluid Mechanics II 52
Example (cont’)
b) Q
V = = 5.09 m/s
A
 Re = 5.07 105
From Fig. 8.17, n = 8.4, so
1/ 8.4
u  r
 1 − 
Vc  R 
1/ n
 r 2
r =R
Q = AV =  udA = Vc   1 −  (2r )dr = 2R 2Vc n
r =0
 R (n + 1)(2n + 1)

V 2n 2
=  Vc = 6.04 m/s
Vc (n + 1)(2n + 1)

Fluid Mechanics II 53
Atmospheric Boundary Layer
The mean velocity profile in the atmospheric boundary layer is
typically written (with the meteorological convention of z for a
vertical coordinate) as:
u 1  z
= ln 
u *   z0 

z0 is called the roughness length, and  = 0.40.

For typical rural conditions, z0 has a value of about 0.1 m.

Fluid Mechanics II 54
Example
◼ In a meteorological lab, wind velocity measurements gave velocities of 4 and
5 m/s at a height of 3 and 6 m, respectively. What should be velocity at a
height of 20 m above the ground? Assume similar atmospheric conditions to
prevail at this height.

 z 4 3
u
= 5.75 log  = 5.75 log 
(1)
u*  z0 
u*  z0 

5 6
= 5.75 log  (2)
u*  z0 
Solve (1) and (2) and obtain u* = 0.577 m/s.

u20  20 
At a height of 20 m, = 5.75 log  (3)
u*  z0 
Solve (1) and (3) and obtain u20 = 6.74 m/s

Fluid Mechanics II 55
Summary: Turbulent Velocity Profile (3 or 4 layers)
1. Viscous Sublayer : y+  5
+ +
u =y
+
2. Buffer Layer : 5  y  30
u + = 5.0 ln y + − 3.05
3. Outer turbulent Layer : y +  30
+ +
u = 2.5 ln y + 5.0

4. Outer region: U − u y
= 2.5 − 2.44 ln
u *

Fluid Mechanics II 56
Summary: Turbulent Velocity Profile (2 layers)
1. Laminar Sublayer : 0  y +  11.6
u+ = y+
The thickness  of the laminar
sublayer and the velocity u at the
laminar sublayer/turbulent core
junction are:
n
 = 11.6 and u = 11.6u *
u*
+
2. Turbulent Layer : y  11.6
u + = 2.5 ln y + + 5.0
Fluid Mechanics II 57
Friction and Pressure Drag
▪ The drag force is the net force exerted by a fluid on a body in the direction of
flow due to the combined effects of wall shear and pressure forces.
▪ The part of drag that is due directly to wall shear stress is called the skin
friction drag (or just friction drag) since it is caused by frictional effects, and
the part that is due directly to pressure is called the pressure drag (also
called the form drag because of its strong dependence on the form or shape
of the body).

▪ The friction drag is the component of the wall shear force in the direction of
flow, and thus it depends on the orientation of the body as well as the
magnitude of the wall shear stress.
▪ For parallel flow over a flat surface, the drag coefficient is equal to the
friction drag coefficient.
▪ Friction drag is a strong function of viscosity, and increases with increasing
viscosity.
9.12 Jet ski
9.13 Drag on a truck Fluid Mechanics II 58
9.14 Automobile streamlining
 Drag is due entirely to friction drag for
a flat plate parallel to the flow; it is
due entirely to pressure drag for a flat
plate normal to the flow; and it is due
to both (but mostly pressure drag) for
a cylinder normal to the flow. The total
drag coefficient CD is lowest for a
parallel flat plate, highest for a vertical
flat plate, and in between (but close to
that of a vertical flat plate) for a
cylinder.

Fluid Mechanics II 59
Flow over Cylinders and Spheres
Flow over cylinders and spheres is frequently encountered in practice.
The tubes in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger involve both internal flow through
the tubes and external flow over the tubes.
Many sports such as soccer, tennis, and golf involve flow over spherical balls.

At very low velocities, the fluid

completely wraps around the
cylinder. Flow in the wake region is
characterized by periodic vortex
formation and low pressures.

Laminar boundary layer

separation with a turbulent wake;
flow over a circular cylinder at
Re=2000.

Fluid Mechanics II 60
For flow over cylinder or sphere, both the friction drag and the pressure drag can
be significant.
The high pressure in the vicinity of the stagnation point and the low pressure on
the opposite side in the wake produce a net force on the body in the direction of
flow.
The drag force is primarily due to friction drag at low Reynolds numbers (Re<10)
and to pressure drag at high Reynolds numbers (Re>5000).
Both effects are significant at intermediate Reynolds numbers.

Figure 11-34
Average drag
coefficient for
cross-flow
over a smooth
circular cylinder
and a smooth
sphere.

Fluid Mechanics II 61
 Observations from CD Curves
▪ For Re<1, we have creeping flow, and the CD decreases with increasing Re. For a
sphere, it is CD=24/Re. There is no flow separation in this regime.
▪ At about Re  10, separation starts occurring on the rear of the body with vortex
shedding starting at about Re  90. The region of separation increases with
increasing Re up to about Re  103. At this point, the drag is mostly (about 95
percent) due to pressure drag. The CD continues to decrease with increasing Re in
this range of 10<Re<103.
▪ In the moderate range of 103<Re<105, the CD remains relatively constant. This
behavior is characteristic of bluff bodies. The flow in the BL is laminar in this range,
but the flow in the separated region past the cylinder or sphere is highly turbulent
with a wide turbulent wake.
▪ There is a sudden drop in the CD somewhere in the range of 105<Re<106 (usually,
at about 2105). This large reduction in CD is due to the flow in the boundary layer
becoming turbulent, which moves the separation point further on the rear of the
body, reducing the size of the wake and thus the magnitude of the pressure drag.
This is in contrast to streamlined bodies, which experience an increase in the CD
(mostly due to friction drag) when the boundary layer becomes turbulent.
▪ There is a “transitional” regime for 2105<Re<2106, in which CD dips to a minimum
value and then slowly rises to its final turbulent value.

Fluid Mechanics II 62
 Flow separation occurs at about  
80° (measured from the front
stagnation point of a cylinder) when
the boundary layer is laminar and at
about  140° when it is turbulent.
The delay of separation in turbulent
flow is caused by the rapid
fluctuations of the fluid in the
transverse direction, which enables
the turbulent boundary layer to
travel farther along the surface
before separation occurs, resulting
in a narrower wake and a smaller
pressure drag.

Flow visualization of flow over (a) a

smooth sphere at Re = 15,000, and
(b) a sphere at Re = 30,000 with a
trip wire. The delay of boundary layer
separation is clearly seen by
comparing the two photographs.
9.6 snow drifts
Fluid Mechanics II 63
Effect of Surface Roughness
Surface roughness, in general, increases the drag coefficient in turbulent flow.
This is especially the case for streamlined bodies.
For blunt bodies such as a circular cylinder or sphere, however, an increase in
the surface roughness may increase or decrease the drag coefficient depending
on Re.

The effect of
surface
roughness on
the drag
coefficient of
a sphere.

Fluid Mechanics II 64
 Surface roughness
Drag force
may increase or
relation
decrease the drag
coefficient of a
spherical object,
depending on the
value of the Re. Frontal area for
a cylinder and
sphere
Roughening the surface can be used to great advantage in
reducing drag.
Golf balls are intentionally roughened to induce turbulence at a
lower Re to take advantage of the sharp drop in the drag
coefficient at the onset of turbulence in the boundary layer (the
typical velocity range of golf balls is 15 to 150 m/s, and the Re
< 4105). The occurrence of turbulent flow at this Re reduces
the drag coefficient of a golf ball by about half. For a given hit,
this means a longer distance for the ball.
For a table tennis ball, however, the speeds are slower and the
ball is smaller—it never reaches speeds in the turbulent range.
Therefore, the surfaces of table tennis balls are made smooth.

Fluid Mechanics II 65
Fluid Mechanics II 66
Roughness
◼ The characteristics of the flow in viscous sublayer are
very important since they set the stage for flow in the rest
of the pipe.
◼ Any irregularity or roughness on the surface disturbs this
layer and affects the flow.
◼ Therefore, unlike laminar flow, the friction factor in
turbulent flow is a strong function of surface roughness.

Fluid Mechanics II 67
Roughness
◼ The roughness is a relative concept.
◼ It has significance when its height e is comparable to the
thickness of the laminar sublayer (which is a function of the
Re). All materials appear “rough” under a microscope with
sufficient magnification. In fluid mechanics, a surface is
characterized as being rough when e > ysublayer and is said to
be smooth when e < ysublayer .

Fluid Mechanics II 68
Roughness
◼ The criterion to determine whether the surface will behave as
smooth or rough is:

eu *
◼ Hydraulically smooth: 0  5; f = f (Re)
n

eu * e
◼ Fully rough:  70; f = f ( )
n R

eu * e
◼ Transition region : 5  70; f = f (Re, )
n R

Fluid Mechanics II 69
Velocity Distribution (local velocity)
◼ The velocity distribution over a smooth surface
u  u* y 
= 5.75 log  + 5.0
u*  n 

◼ The velocity distribution over a rough surface

u  y
= 5.75 log  + 8.5
u* e 

Fluid Mechanics II 70
Velocity Distribution (average velocity)
◼ The velocity distribution over a smooth surface
uavg  u* R 
= 5.75 log  + 1.75
u*  n 

◼ The velocity distribution over a rough surface

uavg R
= 5.75 log  + 4.75
u* e 

Fluid Mechanics II 71
Velocity Distribution (centerline and average velocity)
◼ The difference of velocity, (u – uavg)/u* versus y is found
to be the same for both smooth and rough surfaces.
u − uavg  y ucenter − uavg
= 5.75 log  + 3.75  = 3.75
u* R u*

◼ If the friction velocity is the same for both surfaces, the

velocity u at any elevation y above the solid boundary
remains the same.

Fluid Mechanics II 72
Example
◼ For a turbulent flow in pipes, determine the distance from the
wall, whose velocity is equal to the mean velocity of the flow.

0 as u = uavg
u − uavg  y
= 5.75 log  + 3.75
u* R
 y
 −3.75 = 5.75 log 
R
 y = 0.223R

Fluid Mechanics II 73
Example
◼ A rough pipe (height of roughness projection = 2.5 mm) of 100 cm diameter
and 1000 m length carries water, such that a pitot tube records a velocity of
70.8 cm/s at a distance of 25 cm from the pipewall. Calculate the friction
velocity, head loss, and the discharge flowing through it.
u  y u* = uavg f /8
= 5.75 log  + 8.5
u* e   u* 
2

 250   f = 8 
70.8 u 
 = 5.75 log  + 8.5  avg 
u*  2.5  2
 u* = 3.54 cm/s  3.54 
 f = 8  = 0.0247
 63.65 
u − uavg p l V 2
 y hf = = f
= 5.75 log  + 3.75 g D 2 g
u* R
70.8 − uavg 1000 0.63652
 25  = 0.0247  = 5.1 m
 = 5.75 log  + 3.75 0.1 2  9.81
3.54  50  Q = Auavg
 uavg = 63.65 cm/s

= (0.1) 2  0.6365 = 5  10 −3 m 3 /s
4

Fluid Mechanics II 74
 Friction Factor
◼ The friction factor in fully developed turbulent pipe flow
depends on the Re and the relative roughness e/D,
which is the ratio of the mean height of roughness of the
pipe to the pipe diameter.
◼ It is no way to find a mathematical closed form for friction
factor by theoretical analysis; therefore, all the available
results are obtained from painstaking experiments.
◼ The friction factor was calculated from the measurements
of the flow rate and the pressure drop.

Fluid Mechanics II 75
Moody Chart and Colebrook Equation
◼ In 1939, Cyril F. Colebrook combined the available data
for transition and turbulent flow in smooth as well as
rough pipes into the Colebrook equation:

1
= 2.0 log(Re f 1/ 2 ) − 0.8 (smooth − walled pipe) (e = 0)
f 1/ 2
e /D
(fully rough wall) (Re → )
1
1/ 2
= −2.0 log
f 3.7

Fluid Mechanics II 76
Moody Chart and Colebrook Equation
◼ In 1942, the American engineer Hunter Rouse verified
Colebrook’s equation and produced a graphical plot of f.
◼ In 1944, Lewis F. Moody redrew Rouse’s diagram into
the form commonly used today, called Moody Chart.
◼ An alternative explicit formula given by Haaland as

1  6.9  e / D 1.11 
 −1.8 log  +  
f 1/ 2  Re  3.7  

❑ This equation can be regarded as first guess to solve for f with

Colebrook equation.

Fluid Mechanics II 77
Fluid Mechanics II 78
Moody Chart and Colebrook Equation
◼ The Moody chart presents the Darcy friction factor for
pipe flow as a function of the Re and e/D over a wide
range.
◼ Although it is developed for circular pipes, it can also be
used for noncircular pipe and open-channel flows by
replacing the diameter by the hydraulic diameter.
◼ Both Moody chart and Colebrook equation are accurate
to ±15% due to roughness size, experimental error, curve
fitting of data, etc.

Fluid Mechanics II 79
Equivalent Roughness Values for New Commercial
Pipes

The relative roughness of

pipes may increase with
use as a result of corrosion,
scale buildup and
precipitation.

Fluid Mechanics II 80
Observations from the Moody Chart
◼ For laminar flow, the friction factor decreases with increasing Re,
and it is independent of surface roughness.
◼ The friction factor is a
minimum for a smooth
pipe and increases
with roughness
◼ The data in the
transition region are
the least reliable.
◼ In the transition region,
at small relative
roughness, the friction
factor increases and
approaches the value
for smooth pipes.

Fluid Mechanics II 81
Observations from the Moody Chart
◼ At very large Re, the friction factor curves corresponding to
specified relative roughness curves are nearly horizontal, and
thus the friction factors are independent of the Re. The flow in
that region is called fully rough turbulent flow (or fully
rough flow) because ysublayer decreases with increasing Re,
and it becomes so thin that it is negligibly small compared to
the surface roughness height.

(Fully rough wall)

(Smooth wall)

Karman-Prandtl’s universal resistance equations for turbulent flow in

smooth and rough pipes

Fluid Mechanics II 82
Turbulent Boundary Layer
◼ The turbulent flows are inherently unsteady, and
the instantaneous velocity profile shape varies
with time (wavy black lines). Thus, all turbulent
expressions here represent time-averaged
values (thick purple line).
◼  is not the 99% boundary layer thickness, but
rather the actual edge of the boundary layer.
◼ If the laminar and turbulent BLs were the same
thickness, the turbulent one would be much fuller
than the laminar one.
◼ The turbulent BL would fill the BL with higher-
speed flow close to the wall as the large
turbulent eddies that transport high-speed fluid
from the outer part of the BL down to the lower
parts of the BL (and vice versa).
◼ A turbulent BL has a much greater degree of
mixing, whereas in the laminar case, fluid mixes
slowly due to viscous diffusion.

Fluid Mechanics II 83
Laminar and Turbulent Velocity Profile: Velocity
Gradient

The velocity gradients at the wall, and

thus the wall shear stress, are much
larger for turbulent flow than they are
for laminar flow, even though the
turbulent boundary layer is thicker than
the laminar one for the same value of
free-stream velocity.

Fluid Mechanics II 84
Fluid Mechanics II 85
Fluid Mechanics II 86
Fluid Mechanics II 87
Fluid Mechanics II 88
Laminar and Turbulent Velocity Profile: Shape
◼ The velocity profile in fully
developed pipe flow is parabolic
in laminar flow, but is much fuller
in turbulent flow, with a sharp
drop near the pipe wall. Note that
u(r) in the turbulent case is the
time-averaged velocity
component in the axial direction
◼ The fullness increases with Re,
and the velocity profile becomes
more nearly uniform; however,
the flow speed at the stationary
wall is always zero.

Fluid Mechanics II 89
Comparison of Laminar and Turbulent Fully
Developed Pipe Flow
Laminar
▪ Velocity profile can be solved exactly.
▪ Flow is steady.
▪ Velocity profile is parabolic.
▪ Pipe roughness is not important.
▪ It turns out that uavg = ½ umax and u(r)= 2 uavg(1 - r2/R2)

Fluid Mechanics II 90
 Turbulent
▪ Velocity profile cannot be solved exactly (too complex).
▪ Flow is unsteady (3D swirling eddies), but it is steady in the mean.
▪ Mean velocity profile is fuller (shape more like a top-hat profile,
with very sharp slope at the wall).
▪ Pipe roughness is very important.
▪ uavg is about 85% of umax (depends on Re a bit).
▪ No analytical solution, but there are some good semi-empirical
expressions that approximate the velocity profile shape.
Logarithmic law

Power law

Instantaneous
profiles w,turb > w,lam

Fluid Mechanics II 91
Momentum Integral Equation

Fluid Mechanics II 92
Momentum Integral Equation
◼ The turbulent parameters could be computed if the wall
shear stress is known in terms of time averaged mean
velocity, i.e., turbulent shear stress must be included
along with viscous shear stress. But, such a relation is
too much complex.
◼ So, an approximate solution could be obtained using
momentum integral equation, if a reasonable velocity
profile for turbulent flow is assumed.
◼ In addition, some relations for shear stress should also
be assumed.
◼ One seventh power law for velocity distribution in smooth
pipe is found to be valid for the flow over the flat plate.

Fluid Mechanics II 93
Momentum Integral Equation
◼ The Blasius equation for friction factor f applicable within the range of
Re equal to 5105 to 107 is given as
0.3164 0.3164
f = =
Re1/ 4 (uavg R /n )1/ 4
◼ For a fully developed turbulent flow, mean velocity is related to
maximum velocity at the centerline.
uavg = 0.85umax
◼ Substituting the values of f and uavg into the equation
 w = uavg
2
f /8 0.0288U 2
w =

1/ 4
 0.8umax R 
w = (0.8umax ) 2
 0.3164 /  
Re1x/ 5
8  n 
1/ 4
The turbulent shear stress
2  n  decreases as x-1/5, whereas
= 0.0225umax   Pipe flow x-1/2 for laminar shear
 umax R  stress.

Fluid Mechanics II 94
Momentum Integral Equation
◼ The previous equation applicable to pipe flow can also be used to flat
plate if it is assumed that a pipe is made by wrapping a flat plate. In
that case, R =  and umax = U. So,
 n 
, 1/ 4

 w = 0.0225U 2   Flat plate

 U 
◼ The momentum thickness can be computed for the assumed “one
seventh power law” of velocity distribution.
7 u u
=
72
  = 0

1 − dy =  
1 1/ 7
0 (1 −  1/ 7
)d =
7

U U 72
◼ Substituting the values of w and  into the momentum integral equation,
d 2 n 
1/ 4
d
 w = U 2
So, 0.0225 U   =
7
U 2
dx  U  72 dx

Fluid Mechanics II 95
Momentum Integral Equation
◼ Solving it for all whole turbulent boundary layer with the
known boundary condition,  = 0 at x = 0, yields
 0.37
= The turbulent boundary grows as x4/5, faster than the
,
x (Re x )1/ 5 laminar boundary layer (x1/2).

◼ Similarly, other relationships can be derived. These are

* 0.046 1  0.036 7 
= = = =
x (Re x )1/ 5 8x x (Re x )1/ 5 72 x

w 0.059 FD / A 0.072
Cf = = CDf = =
0.5U 2
(Re x )1/ 5 0.5U 2
(Re x )1/ 5

 * = 0 1 −
u

dy = 
1
0(1 −  1/ 7
)d =
(5 105  Re  107 )
 U 8

Fluid Mechanics II 96
Momentum Integral Equation
d
To find the total force, first find the shear stress τ w = ρU 2
dx
then integrate over the plate length
d
l l
F =  τ wdx =  ρU 2 dx = ρU 2 [N/m]
0 0
dx
For a plate of length, l, and width b,
− 15
 Ul 
F = 0.036 ρU lb 
2
[N] (5 105  Re  107 )
n 
(One-side)

Fluid Mechanics II 97
Momentum Integral Equation
◼ These equations are valid for Re varying from 5105 to
107 and for the given one seventh power law of velocity
distribution.
◼ If any other velocity distribution is used, the resulting
relations will also be different.
◼ Also note that the turbulent flat-plate shape factor is
1/ 8
about H = = 1.29 , indicating that the flow separation is
7 / 72
not easy to occur.

Fluid Mechanics II 98
 Momentum Integral Equation
Now the velocity profile still follows the one-seventh power law
1/ 7
u  y
= 
U  
and the wall shear stress is given as
 n 
1/ 6

 w = 0.01U Re2 −1 / 6
= 0.01U 
2

 U 

Substituting for skin-friction coefficient and momentum thickness in the

momentum integral relation,
n  7 d
1/ 6
 n
1/ 6
 
7/6
0.01  = = 0.12 
 
U 72 dx x U 
0.72 n 1/ 6  
7/6
 n 
1/ 6

1/ 6
dx =  d
1/ 6
  = 0.12 
7 U x  Ux 
0.72 n 1/ 6 x 6 7 / 6  0.162
 
7 U 1/ 6
=  + C (C = 0 as  = 0 when x = 0)
7
= 1/ 7
x Re x
The turbulent boundary grows as x6/7, faster than the laminar
boundary layer (x1/2).    x6 / 7

Fluid Mechanics II 99
Momentum Integral Equation
◼ We can also obtain the equations for skin friction
coefficient Cf and friction drag coefficient CDf
0.027
Cf 
Re1x/ 7

0.032 7
C Df = 1/ 7
= Cf
Re L 6
◼ The CDf is only 16% greater than the trailing-edge Cf,
compared to 50% for laminar flow (CDf = 2Cf).

Fluid Mechanics II 100

Local Friction Coefficient

The variation of the local friction coefficient for flow over a

flat plate. Note that the vertical scale of the boundary layer
is greatly exaggerated in this sketch.

Fluid Mechanics II 101

Local Friction Coefficient

Cf increases several
folds with roughness in
turbulent flow. Boundary Layer Flow
Cf is independent of
the Reynolds number
in the fully rough
region.
This chart is the flat-
plate analog of the
Moody chart for pipe
flows.

Friction coefficient for

parallel flow over smooth
and rough flat plates for
both laminar and
turbulent flows.

Fluid Mechanics II 102

 Local Friction Coefficient
For laminar flow, the Cf depends only on the Re, and the surface roughness has
no effect.
For turbulent flow, surface roughness causes the Cf to increase several folds, to
the point that in the fully rough turbulent regime the Cf is a function of surface
roughness alone and is independent of the Re.

For turbulent flow, surface

roughness may cause the Cf to
increase several folds.

Fluid Mechanics II 103

Fluid Mechanics II 104
Figure 9.15
CDf for a flat plate
parallel to the
upstream flow

Fluid Mechanics II 105

Example
◼ A smooth flat plate 1 m wide and 3 m long through stationary air of
specific weight of 0.0115 kN/m 3 at 1m/s. Calculate the drag force on
one side of the plate when (i) the boundary layer is entirely laminar,
(ii) when the boundary layer is entirely turbulent. (iii) What is the
thickness of the boundary later at the trailing edge for both cases?
Take n =1.510-5 m2/s.
◼ (i) Re = UL = 2 105 1.328 BLU 2
FD = = 0.52 10−2 N
n
L
Re L 2
◼ (ii) 0.072 BLU 2
FD = 1/ 5
= 1.07 10− 2 N
Re L 2
◼ (iii) 5x
 lam = = 0.0335 m
Re1L/ 2

0.37 x
 tur = = 0.0966 m
Re1L/ 5

Fluid Mechanics II 106