Turbulent Flow Interactions with Complex Topography: From Multi-Scale Roughness to Barchan Dunes
Ken Christensen
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
ABSTRACT: Christensen highlights on-going studies of interactions between turbulence and complex topography. One scenario is multi-scale surface roughness commonly encountered on flow surfaces, such as turbine blades and hulls of ships, as well as in nature (e.g., gravel river beds). In industrial applications, realistic roughness is typically due to cumulative damage on a surface that was aerodynamically or hydrodynamically smooth but has become roughened via cumulative damage and/or deposition. Christensen's present effort is devoted toward identifying the impact of multi-scale roughness replicated from a turbine blade damaged by deposition of foreign materials on wall turbulence. Christensen also highlights on-going experiments of flow over barchan dunes.
