B. E.

LAUNDER
Presently,
The Calculation of Turbulent Boundary Layers
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of California,
Davis, Calif. on Spinning and Curved Surfaces
C. H. PRIDDBN The development of turbulent shear layers on rotating or curved surfaces is usually
Presently, characterized by strong effects of streamline curvature on the turbulence structure. The
Combustion Research Department, present contribution deals with the calculation of these effects with a model of turbulence
Rolls Royce, Ltd.,
Derby, England which solves transport equations for the turbulence kinetic energy and its local rate of
dissipation. The direct effect of curvature in the model is limited to a single empirical
coefficient whose magnitude is directly proportional to a Richardson number based on
B. I. SHARMA
a time scale of the energy-containing eddies. (In tfie absence of significant streamline
Presently, curvature the model reduces to a form that has earlier been extensively tested in various
Union Carbide Corp., thin shear flows.) Finite difference computations are reported of the following turbulent-
Tonawanda, N.Y.
flows: the boundary layer on concave and convex surfaces; fully developed flow in a
Mechanical Engineering Department, curved channel; axisymmetric flow over a spinning cylinder; and heat and mass
Imperial College of Science and
Technology, transfer due to spinning cones of various vertex angles. Agreement with experiment is
London, England satisfactorily close in all these cases.

Introduction
Thin shear flows with significant streamline curvature arise in
many practically interesting flows in the mechanical and aero-
nautical sciences. The field of turbomachinery provides perhaps
the greatest number of examples; for appreciable curvature of
streamlines occurs: in flow over compressor and turbine blades
of both radial and axial type; in the boundary layers on the
spinning discs carrying the blades in axial flow turbines; and fre-
quently in the curved diffuser passages between the compressor
and turbine. The importance of the subject has stimulated much
experimental work that has recently been comprehensively re-
viewed by Bradshaw [l].1 The experimental studies have pro-
vided a qualitative understanding of the flow structure, the effect
of curvature being to diminish turbulent transport in flows where
the angular momentum of the flow increases with radius and to
augment it in the opposite situation.
Attempts at predicting the behavior of such flows have shown
that transport models designed by reference to flows where the
curvature of the streamlines is zero or negligible almost uni-
formly underestimate the influence of curvature. Indeed, Brad-
shaw [1] has deduced that in order to account for the observed
behavior with a conventional "effective viscosity" transport
model one needs to multiply the secondary strain associated with
streamline curvature by a factor of tenl
A number of workers have made proposals for making the tur
bulent transport coefficient appropriately sensitive to flow curva-
ture. The most popular route, following a proposal of Bradshaw
[2], has been to make the mixing length, I, a linear function of a
dimensionless group known as the effective "cur-ved flow"
Richardson number defined as
Ri = m
T!<->/[(T:)'+('^)']
Here r is the radius of curvature of the streamline, y the inde-
pendent variable measured normal to the surface and U is the
component of velocity in the circumferential direction. Applica-
tions of this approach have been reported by reference [2] to the
development of boundary layers over a curved sui'face and by
Rastogi and Whitelaw [3] to the development of a wall jet di-
rected tangentially over a circular cylinder. Recently this idea
has been successfully extended to flow over spinning cones,
discs and cylinders by Koosinlin, Launder and Sharma [4]. In
the latter work the Richardson number was reinterpreted as:
2V$ cos a d TJ.
• -r- (rVe)
r2 ay
Ri =
(2)

'Numbers in brackets designate References at end of paper.

where the meaning of the symbols is made clear in Fig. 1.
Contributed by the Fluids Engineering Division for publication in the Despite the successes of the above approach it has been found
JODHNAL OF FLUIDS ENGINEEEING. Manuscript received at ASME Head-
quarters, December 8, 1976. that, when as simple a model as the mixing length hypothesis is

Journal of Fluids Engineering MARCH 1977 / 231

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 1 The Physical and Mathematical Model
(a) Flows Without Streamline Curvature. In Cartesian tensor
notation the model of turbulence developed in reference [5] may
be stated as follows. The turbulent stress and mean strain fields
are assumed to be connected by the "effective viscosity" hypo-
thesis:
AXIS OF SYMMETRY
-pUiUj 3 P*8y, (3)
Fig. 1 Geometry and nomenclature for flows over spinning surfaces \ dxj dxi J

wherein the turbulent viscosity \xt is determined from the local

values of two turbulence quantities, the turbulence energy k
used, a different distribution of mixing length is usually needed and a quantity e defined by
for each new geometry considered. The aim of the present work,
therefore, has been to build the idea of curvature dependence /6W«Y
into a turbulence model in which the distribution of length scale « = v(dui/dxu)2 (4)
through the flow is calculated by reference to a turbulence trans- V
port equation. The model selected for development is the energy/ In regions of fully turbulent flow e equals the rate of dissipation of
dissipation model of Jones and Launder [5] which has been ap- turbulence energy. The turbulent viscosity is related to k and e
plied by its originators to strongly accelerated flows and sub- by:
sequently to other low-Reynolds-number phenomena in refer-
Hi = CppW/e. (5)
ences 16-8]. I t has recently been applied by Launder and Sharma
[9] to predict flow on a spinning disc where, because cos a is where the quantity C,, is a function of turbulent Reynolds num-
zero, Ri = 0. Other extensive applications of the model in flows ber as prescribed below. The two turbulence quantities appearing
where molecular transport effects are negligible have been re- in (5), k and e are obtained from the following pair of transport
ported in reference [10] for the case of free shear flows and in equations t h a t are solved simultaneously with those governing
reference [11] for flows involving regions of recirculation. the mean flow behavior:
In the present work the effects of curvature are accounted for
Dk Mi dk
by making one of the coefficients in the transport equation for +M
the energy-dissipation rate a function of a dimensionless group Dl dxj \ 04 dx•i J dxj \dxj dxt J
similar in character to the rotational Richardson number defined
above. Applications of the model are presented for a variety of pe - 2fx
boundary layer flows developing over curved and spinning sur-
faces; agreement with experiment is mainly satisfactory, though
rather poor behavior is found under conditions of strong tran- De
spiration. Dt dxj \\jr, _dxj J

^/o Ci, Ci, Cs = constants in turbulence Sh = average Sherwood num- high Reynolds num-
model (Table 1) ber bers
= coefficient of buoyant UiUj = k i n e m a t i c R e y n o l d s -
c c
correction term stress component
e= circumferential coordi-
nate
(equation (13)) U = velocity component (di- X= thermal or mass dif-
CM = torque coefficient rected as indicated in fusivity
k = turbulent kinetic energy Figs. 1 and 2) X, = effective turbulent ther-
Nu = average Nusselt number Ut = mean velocity in direc- mal or mass diffusivi-
V = static pressure tion Xi ty
Pk = production rate of tur- V = velocity directed normal M = dynamic viscosity
bulence energy to surface Mi = turbulent viscosity (de-
r = radius of curvature of Ve = circumferential velocity fined b y equation (4))
streamline X = axial flow direction P = density
R, = t u r b u l e n t R e y n o l d s V = coordinate direction (7 = molecular P r a n d t l /
number, k2/ve normal to surface Schmidt number
Re — Reynolds number based Vo = value of y a t effective (Th, 0~c = effective Prandtl num-
on cone radius and edge of boundary lay- bers for diffusion of ft
maximum angular ve- er and e
locity (cones) or bulk a = cone angle V = kinematic viscosity
velocity and channel Six = momentum thickness of 03 = angular velocity of cone
width (duct flow) axial velocity profile or cylinder
Ri = swirl Richardson num- SlB = momentum thickness of fi = spin velocity at surface/
ber, defined by equa- circumferential profile free stream velocity
tion (1) or (2) € = v a r i a b l e defined by
Subscript
Ri, = a Richardson number equation (4) equal to
defined by equation dissipation rate of tur- G = values prevailing in free
(14) bulence energy at stream

232 / M A R C H 1977 Transactions of the ASME

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 „ t dVhtoVi { SUA
+ CaCjU,
k ox•j \dxj dxi J ~k \dxkdxj
The forms of the empirical coefficients given in the table below are
those recently recommended by Launder and Sharma [9]. The
quantity R, stands for pK'/p.t the local Reynolds number of tur-
bulence. A number of coefficients have undergone small changes
from those proposed originally in [5] due to an overall reoptimiza-
tion for free shear flows [10]. However, for the flows' considered
here there would be only slight differences between the behavior
reported below and t h a t which would have been obtained with
the original set of coefficients.
Table 1 The empirically chosen coefficients
effects at low Reynolds numbers appears permissible since mean
J velocity profiles measured on curved-wall boundary layers [1]
show agreement with the usual flat plate log-law close to the
(7)
wall.
We have also adopted a different definition of Richardson num-
ber than t h a t given by equation (2). The denominator of t h a t
equation has the dimension of (time)" -2 ; the time scale in question
is t h a t obtained from mean flow quantities. In the present model
it appears preferable to replace this mean-flow time scale by a
scale characteristic of the turbulence, i.e., (k/e). Thus we adopt
as the significant curvature parameter the turbulent Richardson
number Ri ( defined by
V$ cos a d(rVe)
Ri, s (8)a
r2 Qr

ft ft ft fti (Tie fft T h e form of the dissipation equation solved in the present work
.44 1.92(1-0.3 exp 2.0 0.09 exp [-3.4/ 1.0 1.3 lis thus
a +.T-ma*

i-R?)) (1 + B,/50n

(6) Modification for Curvature. When the above model was P

Be
Ft dxj
'(& + \ -ifl + Cl^ — (dUi i dUi
)
\ire J dxj k dxj \dxj dxi J
applied by the authors to the calculation of turbulent flows on
curved and spinning surfaces it was found that the strong in- pe
fluence of curvature was not well reproduced. The discovery ft^T (1
ftRi() + OMI I (-^-
V dxicdxjY
J O)
was not surprising because other workers who have calculated k
boundary layer flow over curved surfaces with a prescribed dis- T h e coefficients in equation (9) retain the values assigned to
tribution of length scale (see for example, reference [1]) have them in Table 1.
likewise found poor agreement. Extensive explorations have been made with the coefficient
In such simpler models, the approach has been to make the ft varied from zero to 0.5. The optimum value has been found
local length scale depend on the local mean-flow Richardson to lie close to 0.2 and it is for this value t h a t predictions are given
number. This rudimentary assumption is not compatible with in the present work. Note t h a t when the angular momentum of
the present scheme where the length-scale distribution through the mean flow increases with radius Ri< is positive and hence
the flow is calculated from transport equations rather than the new term will tend to enlarge the level of e and thus to reduce
prescribed (a typical turbulent length scale of the energy con- the turbulence kinetic energy. Consequently, the inclusion of
taining eddies is given by ksn/e). A consistent approach with the the Richardson-number-dependent term acts to diminish the
present 2-equation closure is to make the coefficients(s) of one turbulent viscosity (cf, equation (5)). T h e reverse effects are
(or more) of the source terms in the turbulent transport equations produced in a flow where d(rVg)/dr is negative.
depend on a Richardson number. Thus a boundary layer de-
(c) The Governing Equation Set for Axisymmetric Swirling Flow.
veloping initially on plane surface would, on encountering a
section of curved wall, suffer no instantaneous increase in length The above sections have presented the turbulence transport
scale; instead the length-scale level would gradually change equations in cartesian tensor notation. When it come to obtain-
perhaps reaching a new equilibrium distribution. ing numerical solutions, however, it is strongly advantageous
to convert to a coordinate system in which the solid surface
Except for the energy diffusion term, the turbulence energy
coincides with a surface on which one of the independent variables
equation is treated exactly in the present model. The dissipation
is constant. For the flow on an axisymmetric, spinning cone a
equation is thus the obvious place to effect adjustments to the
system of conical polar coordinates indicated in Fig. 1 is the ob-
transport of length scale. The e-equation itself is very much a
vious choice. When account is taken of axial symmetry and the
black-box equation and there are, therefore, no clear guidelines
fact t h a t significant gradients of the dependent variables occur
as to whether, in equation (6), the coefficients of the generation
term (that containing mean strains) or the primary decay term only in the direction normal to the cone surface, the k and e
(that containing ft) or both should be modified. There is also the equations may be written:
question as to whether low-Reynolds-number buoyant terms d_
should be included, t h a t is terms which are Reynolds-number p U ~ + pV- ~~ + Pk P«
dx dy r dy
dependent. On the grounds of seeking the simplest possible form
the present work has assumed t h a t effects of curvature on the
length scale can be accommodated by making only the effective
value of ft depend on Richardson number. Neglect of curvature - 2 *U) (10)

TT de Tr de Id
pU~ + pV r = - — + Cl
k P
"
dx dy r dy

C*-(l-CJlii) + C ^ ^
'\dyl\dy-)
W

('W
•+• I r - ^ r ~

where Pk stands for the rate of production of turbulence energy

I I } (11)

!
Priddin [13] has arrived at the above form by considering the tendency of
curved streamlines to enhance or diminish the angular rotation of a typical
Fig. 2 Geometry and nomenclature for flow over curved surfaces turbulent eddy.

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 by mean strain, nt[(dU/dy)2 + (KdVeM/dyW and the inde- dp
= pXP/r (19)
pendent variables are indicated in Fig. 1. dr
The values of k and e obtained from these equations enable the
turbulent viscosity to be obtained from equation (5). The The corresponding equations for kinetic energy and energy dis-
equations for linear and angular mean momentum may likewise sipation rate are:
be expressed:
TTdk dk i d r / ix, \dk i ,
pU + pV
r rTe Fy-rdy-[r {» + Vk )dy J + P" P«
pU—
dx
+ V —
dy ax r dy { ("+*«> %] ay
(20)
+ p — sin a (12)
-2"(TF)
r

dVe/r
TJ iL + v - = - — \r (n + ^- \— 1 - ft
TT ° ,V\J_ rr ^V*) 1 d rdd dy r dy [_ ^ crf Jdy J
rs(» + fii) (13)
dy

which, together with the equation of continuity: - Cp - (1 C R i i ) — Ctvp., (21)

(
d(rV) d(rU) (14) where now P* is simply p.t{r{dU/r)/dy)\
= 0
dy dx
The above equations were again solved by means of an adapted
and of radial equilibrium of the mean motion: form of the Patankar-Spalding G E N M I X program. A guide to
the computer program and a listing are provided by Priddin [131.
dp
-r~ — pVe1 cos a/r (15) Computing times were again typically 50s. For these flows how-
ay ever considerable time could have been saved by deleting all
provide a closed set for the aerodynamic flow field of a uniform- viscosity dependent terms from the model and matching the
property fluid. For problems involving heat or mass transfer, finite-different solutions to the logarithmic law in the fully-tur-
the enthalpy and/or species-rconservation equation must be solved bulent near-wall zone. The number of grid nodes could then have
in addition. Provided the kinetic heating terms are negligible been reduced to about 15.
both equations may be written in the form: (e) Boundary and Initial Conditions. For all flows considered
here the values of h and € are set to very small values a t the outer
pU — + pV — = - — [r{\ + X,) —- (16) edge of the flow as is appropriate to a quiescent free stream. Fol-
ox dy r dy \ dy I lowing references [5-9] their values are also set to zero a t the wall:
for k this corresponds with the fact t h a t velocity fluctuations
where <f> denotes temperature or mass fraction and X and X< must vanish at a rigid surface and for e, t h a t within the viscous
stand respectively for the molecular and turbulent diffusivities sublayer [5]:
of (j> in the appropriate units. Consistent with our work in refer-
ences [4-6, 9] the effective turbulent Prandtl/Schmidt number is /3M£ V = 2 (dhin\
taken as 0.90, i.e., X< = /u</0.90.
(22)
\dxk ) \ dy )
Equations (10)-(13) and (16) together with the indicated
auxiliary equations have been solved by means of an adapted Thus since
version of G E N M I X , the computer program based on the
finite-difference solution procedure of Patankar and Spalding /dm V /(W'Y
[12]. Ninety cross-stream nodes were used, approximately half \dxk ) \ dy )
of which were concentrated in the sublayer and "buffer" regions
where changes in the value of dependent variables—particularly k its value obviously goes to zero as the wall is approached. Further
and e—were most rapid. Because of the fine spacing in this near- discussion of this boundary condition is provided in references
wall zone computer times were relatively long (typically 50s [5] and [7].
CP time on a C D C 6600). For the mean velocity field for flow over spinning cones, both
(d) Flows Over Curved Surfaces. To predict the development the swirl and axial velocities are set to zero at the edge of the
of a plane two-dimensional boundary layer over a curved sur- boundary layer while at the cone surface U is set to zero and Vo
face such as depicted in Fig. 2 it is convenient to retain the to the product of the angular velocity of the cone and its local
angular momentum as dependent variable. In line with usual radius. In the case of flow over curved surfaces, Ur is set to zero
practice, however, the tangential velocity (which is now also the at the wall and approaches a value independent of y in the irrota-
streamwise velocity) will be denoted by U. Equation (13) thus tional free stream. Changes of Ur in the 8 direction are obtained
becomes: fro n the degenerate form of equation (17) in the free stream.
For the case of flow in a curved channel t h e solution domain
drU difU) dp 1 d(U/r) extended from one wall to the other so no-slip conditions were
pU + pV r*(n + fit)
rdd dy d9+ r applied a t each edge.
(17) Starting profiles of all dependent variables had, of course, to
be prescribed. I n all cases estimates were based on experimental
Notice that the use of 6 rather than x as the measure of stream- knowledge of the dependent-variable distribution in the same or
wise distance enables account to be taken of the different stream- similar flows. For flow over spinning cones computations were
wise distances around, say, the inside and outside walls of a started near the cone tip where the flow was laminar, then solu-
curved channel. The continuity and radial equilibrium equations tion of the k and e equations was introduced later a t the point
may be rewritten where experiments suggested t h a t transition occurs. Our ex-
d{Ur) d(Vr) perience suggests t h a t in all the cases examined here the predicted
= 0 (18) flow behavior, in the regions where comparison is drawn with
d6 dr experiment, is negligibly dependent upon uncertainties in the
and prescribed initial profiles.

234 / MARCH 1977 Transactions of the ASIVIE

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 A /, more important. For the 120-deg cone, for which mass transfer
A TIEN & CAMPBELL data are shown in Fig. 3, the inclusion of the curvature correc-
A A tion raises the Sherwood number by about 5 percent for spin
itr */( Reynolds numbers greater than about 3.5 X 105. This improves
z Cc = 0 . 2 ^

SH —.
f\ C c =0 overall agreement with experiment. It must be said, however,
that data points for Re greater than 4 X 105 lie significantly above
/ the predicted curve. Similar behavior has been noted in the
£>
-
J authors' earlier work using the mixing length hypothesis [4].

y
The only velocity profile data known to us are those measured
— on the same 80 deg cone by Koosinlin and Lockwood [14] and
by Launder and Sharma [15]. The former were obtained with a
^ pitot tube, the latter with a hot-wire anemometer. The hot-wire
10' l/l I II ni i i I MM data are limited in the physical distance covered to the range:
10* 5 < y/fi^Re*)1'2 < 30 the inner limit being set by size of the
Re probes and the outer limit being that beyond which the measured
Fig. 3 Mass transfer rates from a 120-deg cone
values lose significance due to large relative turbulence levels in
the outer part of the flow. The pitot tube data are also subject
to increasing uncertainty in the outer region due to the small
dynamic pressures and the associated difficulty of identifying the
direction of the resultant velocity. The velocity profile data are
2 Comparison of Predictions and Measurements compared with experiments in Fig. 4. Evidently the inclusion
Comparison is drawn first with the flow induced by spinning of the swirl correction term in the dissipation-rate equation
cones. Predictions for the important limiting case of a spinning raises the viscosity in the outer region (by diminishing e); con-
disk have been presented in reference [9]; in that case Ri( is zero sequently the tangential and axial velocities are higher. For the
at all rotational speeds because the radii of curvature of the tangential velocity profile inclusion certainly improves the agree-
streamlines are virtually parallel with the disk surface. Close ment with measurements, both sets of data giving essentially
agreement with experimental data was obtained. the same variation. For the component of flow radially outward
Apart from the disk, experimental data seem to be available and parallel to the cone surface, the two sets oi experiments show
for three cone apex angles: 120, 80, and 60 deg. As the cone differences comparable with the difference between predictions
angle diminishes the influence of streamline curvature becomes with and without the curvature term included. Somewhat better
agreement is displayed closer to the wall, however, by the pre-
diction including curvature effects.
In the foregoing example the effect of curvature on the flow
structure was relatively small and consequently only modest
advantage accrues from using the curved-surface version of the
o KOOSINLIN [I4],R8»4.55XI0 5 turbulence model. The significance of flow curvature increases
as the apex angle is reduced. It is seen from Fig. 5 that sub-
® LAUNDER S SHARMA [15] stantially better agreement with experimental values of torque
---cc=o coefficient on a 60-deg cone results when the curvature term is
included in the e equation. These predictions give torque coef-
ficients only 6 percent less than those measured by Kreith [16]
r/Re'2, which is well within the reported experimental uncertainty of
12 percent. Predictions without the curvature correction give
values approximately 20 percent less.than the measured values.
Heat and mass transfer rates on a 60 deg cone are shown in
Fig. 6. In the turbulent flow regime the heat transfer data fall
approximately midway between the predicted curves with and
without the curvature term, the former giving values approxi-
A—A.
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 mately 10 percent greater than measured. The inclusion of the
V a /rw curvature term in the e equation significantly improves agree-
ment with the experimental mass-transfer data of Tien and
Campbell [17]. Even so, there seems to be a trend at the highest
spin rates for the measured Sherwood number to rise more
rapidly with the spin Reynolds number than the predictions in-
dicate. This behavior is, of course, consistent with the 120-deg
cone data shown in Fig. 3.

y 30 -
2
^/Re'
0.02

CM 0.01 r
sKREITH CC"0
——-Cc-O.Z
I i i i i i I

0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.005

10s I0 6
U/rw Re
Fig. 4 Velocity profiles on an 80-deg cone Fig. 5 Torque coefficients for a 60-deg cone

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 thicknesses is shown for two relative spin rates. At 12 = 1 the
agreement between measured and calculated growth rates is very
close. At the higher spin rate, however, while the growth of §2j
I0 3 is well predicted, the measured axial momentum thickness grows
less rapidly than the calculated values (the variation with C,
= 0 is in better agreement). In order to remove this disagree-
ment it would be necessary to abandon the use of the same coef-
Nu
ficient of viscosity for the swirl and axial components. As the
present level of disagreement is not large, it is questionable
Sh whether it is yet worthwhile to use what would inevitably be a
much more elaborate turbulence closure for calculating this kind
of flow.
Predictions of boundary layer development over curved sur-
faces are shown in Fig. 9 compared with the measurements of
Priddin [13] for a concave surface and So and Mellor [19] for a
10"

Fig. 6 Heat and mass transfer from a 60-deg cone

Ra0O=O.6xio5
22 - ft = 2 / / 22 0»Z//
The final example of flow over spinning surfaces is that where 20 - 1,%
II
20 V/
an external stream passes axially over a spinning cylinder. In yl
18 - 18 //
this case cos a = 1. Fig. 7 co npares the mean velocity profiles l/ If
measured by Furuya, et al. [18], with the calculated behavior for to
lb //// 16 //
the case where the spin velocity at the cylinder surface is twice O 14 14
x - r /* " 1// /"'
the free stream value. The y distance is here normalized by the //
*.
axial momentum thickness, 52x. Inclusion of the curvature cor- CM
CO
12 t J' 12 • / P/
rection much improves agreement though the predicted level of a:
10 -8
// 10 /
axial velocity is still a little too low and that of swirl velocity
somewhat too high in the neighborhood of y/&%x ~ 1. In Fig. 8 8 L r 8 - /
the development of the axial and circumferential momentum 6 6
< i _.. 1 1
4 6 4 6
x/R x/R
Fig. 8 Circumferential and axial momentum thickness on spinning
cylinder

convex wall. Angular momentum rather than velocity profiles

are shown so that the profiles approach a constant value at the
edge of the boundary layer. Agreement between measured and
calculated profiles is very close. For the concave wall a set of
predictions was made with the curvature correction suppressed;
the profile at x = 1.7m shown on Fig. 11(a) is in substantially
worse agreement with experiment. As interesting feature of the
So and Mellor data was that the turbulent shear stress in the
outer part of the boundary layer was virtually destroyed by the
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 convex curvature of the streamlines. Fig. 10 compares the pre-
Va/rw dicted shear stress profile at "station 11" with the measurements.
The experimental and calculated profile are in nearly complete
agreement, the turbulent shear stress falling virtually to zero
halfway across the boundary layer.
The final example is the flow in a curved rectangular channel
of large aspect ratio studied by Ellis and Joubert [20]. Here, of
course, the effect of curvature on the shear flow is of opposite
sense on the two sides of the channel (turbulent mixing being
augmented near the concave surface and damped near the convex
surface). These contrary effects produce a shear flow that is
highly asymmetric about the midplane with the shear stress on
the concave (outer) wall being nearly 2y 2 times as large as that
on the inner wall. Moreover, over the central 50 percent of the
duct (Ur) becomes virtually uniform by the time fully developed
flow is reached. Fig. 11 and Table 2 show that these effects are
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 generally well predicted by the model though there is some dis-
U/U 6 crepancy in the profile shape near the concave wall. Computa-
tions made with the curvature correction omitted exhibited very
Fig. 7 External flow along spinning cylinder: velocity profiles

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 MEASUREMENTS (13)

0-2 0'4 0-6 OS

Ur/(Ur)

(a) Concave surface

PREDICTIONS OF THE DATA OF SO & M E L L O R (CONVEX)

m SO & M E L L O R ; MEASURED
PREDICTION

x =l-8m

l-O

(fa) Convex surface

Fig. 9 Boundary layer development on curved surfaces

poor agreement with a nearly symmetric velocity profile and 3 Concluding Remarks
^ ' ' Numerical computations have been presented of a wide range
of turbulent shear flows developing on curved or spinning sur-
Table 2 Wall shear stress coefficient (xlO*) in a curved channel faces. The model of turbulence used was basically the two-equa-
tion
Inner wall Outer wall * ~ e m o d e l o f ^ r e n c e [6]. The transport equation for e
was
1.15 2.75 measured—Ellis and Joubert [201 > h °wever, modified by the inclusion of an extra term to
1.18 2.95 predicted account for effects of streamline curvature on the turbulent

Journal of Fluids Engineering MARCH 1977 / 237

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 10

08
- ---- "-
"-
• DATA

PREDICTIONS

APPROXIMATE FLAT

• "-
'-...
PLATE PROFILE

06 - "-
•
1:
'tw
"
04

02
"" " '-...
..........

o
y I 5
Fig. 10 Shear stress profile on convex surface

~
~

:. .__
~
~

~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~

--.--.---.--.~o
.•
1-0

U rliU rl

04
0-8

max
0-6
• Y
I
~

•
FULLY DEVELOPED PROFILE AT R.~B-3 x 10 5
\

• DATA ELLIS & JOUBERT 119741

0-2 PREDICTION

o 1-0

Flg.11 Fully developed profile in curved plane channel

length scale. For all of the flows presented agreement with cx- would have achicvcd good agreemcnt in the transpired boundary
periment was satisfactory, thcre being moderate 01' substantial layer, too.
improvement ovcr results obtainable with the conventional
k "" ~ model. Whether in practice it will be prcfcrable to adopt Acknowledgments
this scheme rather than some simpler approach will depend on
the flow in question. For thc case of flows induced by spinning Thc I'(!search documented abovc has been supported hy the
coneH t,he prcdictions obtaincd here are only marginally superior Scicnce Research Council through Grant Bjl{,Gj186:l lind by
to thosc rcportcd in [4] with a mixing length modcl. Computing thc iVIiniHt,ry of Dcfcnse (Procllrcment I'~xecutivc) under Agrce-
times for thc latter are, howcver, only about 25 pcrccnt of thosc ment ATj20:17j0114jXH. Onc of (CHI') was the recipient w,
needed with the present model. Thus, if the l profile can be of an ASSIST scholarship providcd jointly by thc Science Ite-
estimated with rcasonable certainty there are obvious advantages Hem'ch Council and Rolls Roycc (1971), Ltd.
to using the MLH. The prescnt schcme would probably bc pre- The numerical computations wcre pcrformcd in computcrs
fcrrcd wherc turbulencc transport cffects are more pronounccd. undcr the control of thc University of London and Imperial
Finally it is mcntioned that there h, still room for further cx- Collcgc Compuicr Centcrs.
ploration and refinement of the present model since for the case Authors names arc in alphabetical order.
of strong blowing through a curved wall Priudin [l:l] find" thc
rcquired valuc of C, is only about one-half of that, used hcrc. This References
suggcsts in rctrospect that it might havc been bcttcr to h:we madc
thc curvaturc correction (with oppositc sign) operate on thc 1 Bmdshaw, P., "The Effect of Streamline Curvature on
Turbulent Flow," AGARDo[/l'aph, No. 169, 1973.
7Jro r/lIclion term of thc ~ cquation instead of on the decay part. 2 BrauslHlw, P., "The Analogy Bctween Stroamline CllI'va-
VirtuHlly the samc results flS in the present study would Imvc bccn turo and Buoyancy in Turbulent Shcilr l?low," Journal of ["luid
produc:cu for thc Cflses prcscnted above sincc t,he tcrm 1\ and ~ Mechanics, Vol. 36, l!l71, 1007. I)
:Ire approximatdy cqual over the near-wall flow. Blowing at :3 Itastugi, A., anti W litelaw, J. II., "Pl'Ococlul'H for Predict-
ing the Influence of LongituuilHll Curv!ltlll'e on Boundary Layer
thc wall howcver t.ends to make l-'k ICHs t.han ~ near the ~\lrfacc; Flows," ASi\H~ Paper No. 71-WAjFE-:l7, IH71.
w possibly a curvatHl'C corrcc!tion based on the production tcrm 4 l{ooHinlin, ;VI. L., LaUlldc,r, B. E., !lnd Shfl.l'll\ll, B. r., PI'O-

238 / MARCH 1977 Transactions of the ASME

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 diction of Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer in Swirling Tur-
bulent Boundary Layers," Journal of Heal Transfer, 96, 1974, p.
204.
5 Jones, W. P., and Launder, B. E., " T h e Prediction of
Laminarizatiou With a Two-Equation Alodel of Turbulence,"
Int. Journal of Heal and Mass Transfer, 15, 1972, p. 301.
6 Jones, W. P., and Launder, B. E., The Calculation of Low
Reynolds Number Phonomena With a Two-Equation Model of
Turbulence," Int. Journal of Heal and Mass Transfer, 16, 1973,
p. 1189.
7 Jones, W. P., "Laminarizatiou in Strongly Accelerated
Boundary Layers, P h D thesis, University of London, 1971.
8 Jones, W. P., and Renz, V., "Condensation From a Tur-
bulent Stream Onto a Vertical Surface," Int. Journal of Heat and
Mass Transfer, 17, 1974, p. 1019.
9 Launder, B. E., and Sharma, B: I., "Application of the
Energy-Dissipation Model of Turbulence to Flow Near a Spin-
ning Disc," Letters in Heal and Mass Transfer, 2, 1974.
10 Launder, B. E., Morse, A. P., Rodi, W., and Spalding,
D. B., " T h e Prediction of Free Shear Flows—A Comparison of
the Performance of Six Turbulence Models," Proc. Langley Free
Shear Flows Conference, July 20-21, 1972, Vol. 1, NASA SP 320,
1973.
11 Launder, B . E., and Spalding, D. B., " T h e Numerical
Computation of Turbulent Flow," Comp. Melh. in Appl. Mech.
and Engr., 3, 1974, p . 269.
12 Patankar, S. V., and Spalding, D. B., "Heat and Mass
Transfer in Boundary Layers," Inlcrtext Books, London, 1970.
13 Priddin, C. H.', " T h e Behavior of the Turbulent Boundary
Layer on Curved, Porous Walls, P h D thesis, University of
London, 1975.
14 Koosinlin, M. L., and Lockwood, F . C , "Turbulent
Mean Velocity Measurements on a Rotating Cone," Imperial
College, Mech. Engr. Rep. B L / T N / A / 5 5 , 1973.
15 Launder, B. E., and Sharma, B. I., "Reynolds Stress
Measurements of the Flow Induced by a Rotating Cone," Manu-
script in preparation, 1976.
16 Kreith, F., "Frictional Drag and Convective Heat Trans-
fer of Rotating Cones in Mixed and Turbulent Flows," Pro-
ceedings of Heat Transfer and Fluid Mech. Institute, Stanford
1966.
17 Tien, C. L., and Campbell, D. T., Heat and Mass Trans-
fer from Rotating Cones," / . Fluid Mech., 17, 1963, p. 105.
18 Furuya, Y., Nakamura, I., and Kawachi, H., " T h e Ex-
periment on the Skewed Boundary Layer on a Rotating Body,"
Bull. JSME 9, 1966, p. 702.
19 So, R. M. C , and Mellor, G. L., "An Experimental In-
vestigation of Turbulent Boundary Layers Along Curved Sur-
faces " NASA-CR-1940
20' Ellis, L. B., and'joubert, P. N., "Turbulent Shear Flow
in a Curved Duct," Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 62, Pt. 1,
1974, p . 65.

Statement of Experimental Uncertainty

As announced in the Editorial of the June 1975 issue, all papers considered for publication
herein must contain an adequate statement of the uncertainty of their experimental data.

Guidelines on uncertainty estimation and presentation techniques are available to authors

from the Executive Secretary, JOURNAL OF FLUIDS ENGINEERING, BOX 69, Hanover, New Hamp-
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Journal of Fluids Engineering MARCH 1977 / 239

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