Determination of skin friction in strong pressure-gradient equilibrium and near-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers

Abstract

The conventional Clauser-chart method for determination of local skin friction in zero or weak pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer flows fails entirely in strong pressure-gradient situations. This failure occurs due to the large departure of the mean velocity profile from the universal logarithmic law upon which the conventional Clauser-chart method is based. It is possible to extend this method, even for strong pressure-gradient situations involving equilibrium or near-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers by making use of the so-called non-universal logarithmic laws. These non-universal log laws depend on the local strength of the pressure gradient and may be regarded as perturbations of the universal log law. The present paper shows that the modified Clauser-chart method, so developed, yields quite satisfactory results in terms of estimation of local skin friction in strongly accelerated or retarded equilibrium and near-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers that are not very close to relaminarization or separation.