Turbulent Pipe Flow at Extreme Reynolds Numbers

M. Hultmark, M. Vallikivi, S. C. C. Bailey, and A. J. Smits

Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 094501 – Published 28 February 2012

Abstract

Both the inherent intractability and complex beauty of turbulence reside in its large range of physical and temporal scales. This range of scales is captured by the Reynolds number, which in nature and in many engineering applications can be as large as $10^{5}$ – $10^{6}$ . Here, we report turbulence measurements over an unprecedented range of Reynolds numbers using a unique combination of a high-pressure air facility and a new nanoscale anemometry probe. The results reveal previously unknown universal scaling behavior for the turbulent velocity fluctuations, which is remarkably similar to the well-known scaling behavior of the mean velocity distribution.

Received 16 November 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.094501

Authors & Affiliations

M. Hultmark¹, M. Vallikivi¹, S. C. C. Bailey², and A. J. Smits¹

¹Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA
²Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA