Novel Perturbation Analysis for a Widely Applicable Curvature Law of the Wall

Abstract

Abstract A streamline curvature law of the wall is analytically derived to include very strong curved-channel wall curvature effects through a novel perturbation analysis. The new law allows improved analysis of such flows, and it provides the basis for improved wall function boundary conditions for their computation (CFD) over a wider range of y+, even for very strong curvature cases. The unique derivation is based on the Boussinesq eddy viscosity and curvature-corrected mixing length concepts, which is a linear function of the gradient Richardson number. For the first time, to include more complete curved flow physics, local streamline curvature effects in the gradient Richardson number are kept. To overcome the mathematical difficulty of keeping all of these local streamline curvature terms, a novel perturbation solution approach is successfully developed. This novel perturbation technique allows a closed-form analytical solution to many similar non-linear problems which previously required more complicated techniques. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with measurements and previous curvature laws of the wall obtained by different approaches reveal that the new law shows improved representation of the wall curvature effects for all of the four test cases.