Reynolds stress budgets in Couette and boundary layer flows

Abstract

Reynolds stress budgets for both Couette and boundary layer flows are evaluated and presented. Data are taken from direct numerical simulations of rotating and non-rotating plane turbulent Couette flow and turbulent boundary layer with and without adverse pressure gradient. Comparison of the total shear stress for the two types of flows suggests that the Couette case may be regarded as the high Reynolds number limit for the boundary layer flow close to the wall. The limit values of turbulence statistics close to the wall for the boundary layer for increasing Reynolds number approach the corresponding Couette flow values. The direction of rotation is chosen so that it has a stabilizing effect, whereas the adverse pressure gradient is destabilizing. The pressure-strain rate tensor in the Couette flow case is presented for a split into slow, rapid and Stokes terms. Most of the influence from rotation is located to the region close to the wall, and both the slow and rapid parts are affected. The anisotropy for the boundary layer decreases for higher Reynolds number, reflecting the larger separation of scales, and becomes close to that for Couette flow. The adverse pressure gradient has a strong weakening effect on the anisotropy.