A velocity model in the wake of a thin plate parallel to uniform flow

Abstract

A novel equation of wake model for the wake velocity distribution of a flat plate is proposed and verified in this study. The core of this equation is a special dimensionless method of the velocity deficit and the distance from the trailing edge of the plate along the flow direction, and a dimensionless standard deviation satisfying the law of linear expansion. In this study, it is assumed that the velocity deficit in the wake has a self-similar Gaussian distribution. Moreover, another conservation of momentum and Blasius equation is applied. The velocity distribution expression comprises the near-wake region and the far-wake region in accordance with the standard deviation of the Gaussian distribution. The model is capable of accurately predicting the velocity deficit of the near wake velocity distribution, and the dimensionless standard deviation serves as the only model parameter. The proposed model is compared with the existing research and present water-tunnel measurements, such that they are well consistent with each other.