Pressure-gradient force | EPFL Graph Search

In fluid mechanics, the pressure-gradient force is the force that results when there is a difference in pressure across a surface. In general, a pressure is a force per unit area across a surface. A difference in pressure across a surface then implies a difference in force, which can result in an acceleration according to Newton's second law of motion, if there is no additional force to balance it. The resulting force is always directed from the region of higher-pressure to the region of lower-pressure. When a fluid is in an equilibrium state (i.e. there are no net forces, and no acceleration), the system is referred to as being in hydrostatic equilibrium. In the case of atmospheres, the pressure-gradient force is balanced by the gravitational force, maintaining hydrostatic equilibrium. In Earth's atmosphere, for example, air pressure decreases at altitudes above Earth's surface, thus providing a pressure-gradient force which counteracts the force of gravity on the atmosphere.

Comparison of mean flow similarity laws in zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers

Peter Monkewitz

The paper presents an in depth assessment of different similarity laws for the mean velocity profile in zero pressure gradient (ZPG) turbulent boundary layers (TBL's) in comparison with mostly experimental and few computational data. The emphasis is on the descriptions which are complete in the sense that a full representation of the mean velocity profile, its streamwise evolution and all integral parameters, including the friction factor and the shape factor, are provided as a function of Reynolds number. The first such complete description is the classical two-layer theory with its characteristic logarithmic mean velocity profile in the region where the two layers overlap, henceforth referred to as the "log law." The main alternative scalings which have been proposed over the last decade have led to power law descriptions of the turbulent mean velocity profile. Since the different descriptions were calibrated with different data sets, the controversy over the relative merits of the different approaches has lingered on. The purpose of the present paper is to measure the principal competing theories against the same vast data set of more than 300 mean velocity profiles from more than twenty different sources. The results confirm the conclusions of numerous authors that the log law provides a fully self-consistent and accurate description of all the mean quantities and demonstrates conclusively that the same cannot be achieved by the competing power law theories. Along the way, it is also argued that the traditional description of the outer velocity profile in terms of a wall-normal coordinate normalized to unity at a hypothetical boundary layer "edge" delta and a "wake parameter" Pi is not robust with respect to the fit of the outer velicity profile and should therefore not be used in theoretical arguments. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

2008

Self-consistent high-Reynolds-number asymptotics for zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers

Peter Monkewitz

The asymptotic behavior of mean velocity and integral parameters in flat plate turbulent boundary layers under zero pressure gradient are studied for Reynolds numbers approaching infinity. Using the classical two-layer approach of Millikan, Rotta, and Clauser with a logarithmic velocity profile in the overlap region between "inner" and "outer" layers, a fully self-consistent leading-order description of the mean velocity profile and all integral parameters is developed. It is shown that this description fits most high Reynolds number data, and in particular their Reynolds number dependence, exceedingly well; i.e., within experimental errors. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

2007

Revisiting the quest for a universal log-law and the role of pressure gradient in "canonical" wall-bounded turbulent flows

Peter Monkewitz

The trinity of so-called "canonical" wall-bounded turbulent flows, comprising the zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer, abbreviated ZPG TBL, turbulent pipe flow, and channel/duct flows has continued to receive intense attention as new and more reliable experimental data have become available. Nevertheless, the debate on whether the logarithmic part of the mean velocity profile, in particular the Karman constant kappa, is identical for these three canonical flows or flow-dependent is still ongoing. In this paper, the asymptotic matching requirement of equal. in the logarithmic overlap layer, which links the inner and outer flow regions, and in the expression for the centerline/free-stream velocity is reiterated and shown to preclude a universal logarithmic overlap layer in the three canonical flows. However, the majority of pipe and channel flowstudies at friction Reynolds numbers Re-tau below approximate to 10(4) extract from near-wall profiles the same kappa of 0.38-0.39 as in the ZPG TBL. This apparent contradiction is resolved by a careful reanalysis of high-quality mean velocity profiles in the Princeton "Superpipe" and other pipes, channels, and ducts, which shows that the mean velocity in a near-wall region extending to around 700 "+" units in channels and ducts and 500 "+" units in pipes is the same as in the ZPG TBL. In other words, all the "canonical" flow profiles contain the lower end of the ZPG TBL log-region, which starts at a wall distance of 150-200 "+" units with a universal kappa of kappa(ZPG) approximate to 0.384. This interior log-region is followed by a second logarithmic region with a flow specific. > kappa(ZPG), which increases monotonically with pressure gradient. This second, exterior log-layer is the actual overlap layer matching up to the outer expansion, which implies equality of the exterior. and kappa(CL) obtained from the evolution of the respective centerline velocity with Reynolds number. The location of the switch-over point implies furthermore that this second log-layer only becomes clearly identifiable, i.e., separated from the wake region, for Re-tau well beyond 10(4) (see Fig. 1). This explains the discrepancies between the Karman constants of 0.38-0.39, extracted from near-wall pipe profiles below Re-tau approximate to 10(4) and the kappa's obtained from the evolution of the centerline velocity with Reynolds number. The same analysis is successfully applied to velocity profiles in channels and ducts even though experiments and numerical simulations have not yet reached Reynolds numbers where the different layers have even started to clearly separate.

Amer Physical Soc2017

Revisiting the quest for a universal log-law and the role of pressure gradient in "canonical" wall-bounded turbulent flows

Peter Monkewitz

Amer Physical Soc2017