Inr. 1. Mech. Sci. Vol. 29, No. 5. pp. 31 i-320.

1987

0020-7403187

Printed in Great Britain.

$3.00+ .W

Pergamon Journals Ltd

TURBULENCE

CHARACTERISTICS
OF WALL JETS ALONG
STRONG CONVEX SURFACES
N. FUJISAWA*

and R. KOBAYASHI~

*Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gunma University, Faculty of Engineering, Kiryu, Japan and
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tohoku University, Faculty of Engineering, Sendai, Japan
(Received 10 April 1986; and in revised form 17 October 1986)

Abstract-Mean
flow and turbulence characteristics of two-dimensional wall jets along strong
convex surfaces are investigated in an experimental manner. Distributions of mean velocities,
Reynolds normal and shear stresses and dissipation across the wall jets are measured, then the
balances of advection, production and dissipation in the Reynolds stress equations are examined. The
jet spreading and the levels of the Reynolds stresses of the strong convex wall jets increase significantly
as the wall jets develop along the surfaces. These trends are well correlated with a curvature parameter
represented by the ratio of half-width to surface curvature. The magnitudes of the terms in the
Reynolds stress equations for the strong convex wall jet are increased significantly compared with
those of the plane wall jet. In particular, these appear to be strong centrifugal effects on the production
of the turbulent fluctuation normal to the surface. This production, coupled with the production of
the shear stress and the advection of streamwise turbulent fluctuation, increase the interactions of
mean flow and turbulence.

NOTATION
half width of wall jet, where V = Urn/2 in jet region
slot width at nozzle exit
radius of surface curvature
mean velocity components in x and y directions
VO mean velocity at nozzle exit
VIn maximum velocity across wall jet
Ii, u,w fluctuating components in x, y and z directions
X? Y, 2 co-ordinates (see Fig. 1)
position of maximum velocity
Ym
dissipation
angular position along convex surface
f
Y
kinematic viscosity
density of fluid
P
time averaging
b
d
R
v, v

subscript

max
_

maximum

1. INTRODUCTION

Turbulent wall jets have been applied to the boundary layer and thermal control of solid
surfaces as well as for many other engineering purposes. Therefore, the flow characteristics of
the turbulent wall jets along convexly curved surfaces have been studied in relationship to the
Coanda effect [l-7]. The most obvious convex flow configuration considered is that of a twodimensional jet flowing over the convex surface of constant radius. The mean flow
characteristics (mean velocity profile and growth rate of the jet) of the convex wall jets have
been studied extensively by many researchers [l-5], the results of which are in the form of
review papers [6--91. Thereafter, turbulence characteristics of this flow field have been
investigated by Alcaraz et al. [lo] and Kobayashi and Fujisawa [l l] for mild convex
curvature (where the half-width of mean flow is much smaller than the surface radius). Their
results indicate apparent increases of Reynolds stresses by the mild convex curvature, which
are well correlated with the curvature parameter represented by the ratio of half-width to the
radius of convex surface. However, for strong convex curvature (where the half-width is of
the same order as the surface radius), turbulence measurements are rather few and have been
311

N. FUJISAWAand R. KO~AYASHI

312

reported only by Wilson and Goldstein [12] for a constant radius surface. The result shows a
significant increase of Reynolds stresses much larger than for the wall jet with mild convex
curvature.
The purpose of this paper is to experimentally
study the effectsof strong convex curvature
on the mean flow and turbulence characteristics
of two-dimensional
wall jets in fine detail
with three constant radius surfaces for a wide range of strong convex curvature. Further, the
balance of advection, production and dissipation in the equations of Reynolds normal and
shear stresses are examined.
2. EXPERIMENTAL

APPARATUS

AND

PROCEDURES

A schematic diagram of the test section is shown in Fig. 1. Air is supplied by a centrifugal
blower and flows through nozzle A to form a fully developed two-dimensional
wall jet on the
plane surface B. The length 1 of surface B was selected as 250 mm (= 50 d) in the present
experiment, because the flow characteristics of the wall jet were seen to be self-preserving at
the beginning of the convex surfaces. Surface B is smoothly connected to the circular cylinder
C having a constant radius R of surface curvature. The radii R of the test surfaces are 83, 134
and 250 mm as shown in Table 1. To maintain
two-dimensionality
of the wall jet. a
rectangular nozzle is used [ 131 with slot height d = .5.0+ 0.05 mm and width 588 mm, thus
giving a width to height aspect ratio of approximately
120: 1. (Wilson aand Goldstein [ 121
used a convex surface
of R = 101.6 mm, which is directly connected
to the nozzle of
d = 6.15 mm with aspect ratio 83: 1.) Two end plates of sufficiently large size are attached to
both sides of the test section. The flow characteristics
of the convex wall jets obtained are
insensitive to velocity U0 at the slot in the range 32-48 m s- , so that the experimental results
shown in this paper are for CJO= 40 m s- r. The streamwise co-ordinate x is defined along the
convex surface of radius R starting from the inlet of the curved surface, and co-ordinates y
and z are both normal to x, with y perpendicular
to the surface (as shown in Fig. 1).
Mean and fluctuating
velocities were measured using a DISA constant temperature
anemometer system and single and X-wire probes with tungsten wires having a diameter of
5 pm. The output signals were processed by the usual small disturbance analysis method,
since the turbulence intensity processed by this method agrees with that by the square wave
analysis method within 5 yOfor turbulence intensities as high as 40% [12]. The errors in

FIG.

1. Schematic diagram of test section: A, contraction nozzle; B, plane surface; C, test convex
surface; y = 0 - y,, wall region; y > y, jet region.

TABLE 1. TEST CONVEXSURFACES

Test
surface

Radius R
(mm)

Inlet curvature
b/R at 0 = 0

No. 1
No. 2
No. 3

250
134
83

0.08
0.15
0.24

Turbulence

characteristics

along strong

313

convex surfaces

u
*,
f
8
y0
for
measurement
are estimated as k 2 y0 for mean velocity U, + 2 y0 for J=
J- U
and + lO%forp
w an d uu, involving calibration uncertainty and time-averaging
errors
[14]. The time derivative of u is obtained by using a differentiating
circuit, which has a flat
frequency response up to about 10 kHz.
Two-dimensionality
of the flow field can be judged from the conformity of the present
experimental development
of the wall jets with the two-dimensional
momentum equations.
For this purpose, eliminating
the pressure from the momentum
equations for the x and J
directions and integrating
them in the y direction from y = 0 to xj, the following nondimensional momentum flux expression is derived, on the assumption that u, II, wand Vare
much smaller than V and frictional losses are negligible [8]:
M = {i

Udy-[;

[;

Uz,(R+y)dy.dy},(U;d).

(1)

M is considered as 1 for two-dimensional

mean flow state. The total loss due to the neglected
terms is estimated to be about 10 % of the initial momentum flux at the farthest station from
the nozzle of the present experiment. Thus, we considered the range of two-dimensional
mean flow state as M > 0.8. Figure 2 shows the non-dimensional
momentum
flux M
calculated from the present experiment and that of Wilson and Goldstein [12]. It is clear that
M is around 1.0 for small 8, but M decreases suddenly for large 8 (loo-1407, which indicates
the effect of three-dimensional
vortex motions produced around the end plates [13]. Thus, it
is considered that the upper value of 8 for two-dimensional
mean flow state is 8 = loo-140
and becomes slightly larger as the radius of convex surfaces increase.
3. EXPERIMENTAL

RESULTS

3.1. Mean jlow characteristics

Figure 3 shows mean velocity profiles for convex surface No. 2 (R = 134 mm) for
8 = O-l 12.5, which are compared with those for the plane wall jet of the present experiment
(x = - lOd, which corresponds
to a distance of 40d from the nozzle) and previous ones

FIG. 2. Non-dimensional

momentum

45

90

8 (deg.) 35

flux M and angle 0. A No. 1, 0 No. 2, ??No. 3, fI Wilson and

Goldstein 1121.

--I

Plane[12,15

1 ,

/
1.0

1.5

ylb

20

FIG. 3. Distributions
of mean velocity for convex wall jet (No. 2). D plane surface (x/d = - 10);
convex surface, W 0 = 22.5, 0 0 = 45, A fI = 77.5, a b, = 90, 0 0 = 112.5.

N. FUJISAWA
and R. KOBAYASHI

314

[12, 151. Velocity U and distance y from the surface are made dimensionless by the local
maximum velocity U,and half-width b, respectively. The velocity profiles for the convex wall
jets are similar in the jet region and agree with those of the plane wall jet. In the wall region.
however, the mean velocities increase slightly. This trend agrees approximately with the
previous experiment for strong convex wall jet [12].
Figure 4 shows the streamwise variations of half-width b/d for all convex wall jets in
comparison with the plane one [15]. It is clear that the spreading rate db/dx becomes larger
as the radius R of the convex surface becomes smaller. Significant increases are observed for
large values of x/d. The corresponding variations of maximum velocity U, are shown in
Fig. 5 in comparison with that of the plane wall jet. Remarkable decreases in Urnare found for
the strong convex wall jet with large x/d. which are well correlated with the increases in the
half-width b in Fig. 4.
Figure 6 shows the relation of growth rate db/dx with curvature b/R for the present convex
wall jets, which are compared with the previous result [12]. It follows that the present result
for the convex surface No. 1 of smallest inlet curvature at 8 = 0 agrees with the previous
result satisfactory, but the agreement deteriorates as the radii of convex surfaces increase and
the inlet curvature becomes large (Nos 2 and 3). The values of inlet curvature at Q = 0 is
shown in Table 1. The influence of inlet curvature seems to weaken as the wall jet develops
downstream and db/dx shows a better correlation with bJR.

100

50

FIG. 4. Streamwise

of half-width

OO"-----FIG. 5. Streamwise

variations

x/d

50
variations

100

of maximum

150
b

..A
x/d

150

velocity

U,

l.Oy

9
g

.i

0.51

Convex [121
/CA
.
_< ;:I r

_,a--*-

FIG. 6. Growth

!L
0

rate db/dx

-A--

0.2

0.4

of convex wall jet and curvature

-yyd
0.6

b/R. (For caption

see Fig. 2.)

Turbulence

characteristics

along strong

315

convex surfaces

3.2. Turbulence characteristics

Figures 7(at(c) and 8 show the distributions of Reynolds normal stresses in three
Cartesian directions (p/U,,,,
fl/U,,
g/U,)
and Reynolds shear stress uv/Ui
across the wall jet of convex surface No. 2 for tI = O-112.5, which are compared with those
of previous strong convex result [ 123. It is noted that the measurements for the plane wall jets
agree with each other within the experimental uncertainty. As the wall jet flows into the
convex surface, the stress levels increase significantly for small 8, but the rate of increase
becomes small as 0 increases, and seems to be saturated for much larger 19.By examining the
,2
7
shape of the distributions, it is found that the Reynolds normal stresses u and w increase
strongly close to the surface, but -;z
u is roughly the same as in the plane wall jet due to the
strong wall damping effect. The stresses measured in [12] at 8 = 90 are slightly smaller than
the present ones (which might be caused by the difference of the inlet curvatures) but the
shapes of the distributions are similar to the present results. In Fig. 8, the position where the
Reynolds stress becomes zero, is closer to the surface when it is compared with the position
for the plane wall jet. This might indicate an enhancement of turbulent diffusion from the jet
region to wall region in the convex wall jet.

15

FIG. 7. Distributions
(b) @JU,

of Reynolds

(c) JSIU,,,.

normal

stresses

across

convex

ylb

21)

wall jet (No. 2). (a) JuX/U,,,,

D pl ane surface. (x/d = - 10); convex surface, ??0 = 22.5, 0 0 = 45, A

0 = 77.5, A0 = go, 0 0 = 112.5.

316

N. FUJISAWAand R. KOBAYASHI

Figures 9(a)-(c) and 10 represent the maximum values of Reynolds normal stresses and
shear stress across the wall jets, plotted against the curvature parameter b/R. There are
apparent influence of the inlet curvature on the Reynolds normal and shear stresses, as was
observed for the growth rate db/dx in Fig. 6. As the wall jets develop on the convex surfaces,
the influence of inlet curvature on the Reynolds stresses seems to weaken and the
characteristics become well correlated with the curvature parameter b/R downstream. The
experimental results by Wilson and Goldstein [12] agree with the present results for convex

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

y/b

FIG. 8. Distributions of Reynolds shear stress uu/Uk(No. 2). (For caption see Fig. 7.)

0.3
.

1 -

a
?

0.

0.2c

??
1

-1
*I

4
.

.
Cc)

I
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

blR

OB

FIG. 9. Maximum values of Reynolds normal stresses across convex wall jet and curvature b/R.
(4 ~axl~mxl

04 flAx/u,,,,

(C)&<Ju,.

ANo. 1,. NO. 2,mNo. 3,A Wilson and Goldstein

ct21.

Turbulence characteristics along strong convex surfaces

e-

0.01
0

0.2

0.4

0.6

b/R

317

OB

FIG. 10. Maximum values of Reynolds shear stress and curvature b/R. (For caption see Fig. 9.)

surface No. 1 (the smallest inlet curvature in the present experiment), as the influence of inlet
curvature seems to be much smaller in their experiment. It is noted that the increasing rates of
is
the maximum values of fi,
p w and )u v are reduced for large b/R, but that of fl
increased.
3.3. Balance of Reynolds stresses equations
The Reynolds stresses equations for turbulent wall jet along strong convex surfaces are as
follows [ 161:

(2)
DF

DS

DF
_

2P
wv) 2
--+j&=o
aY

DS

awl2
+hVuax

ad2

add
x+hVA

aUfWf2

+x+-(hVW2)

ay ,

Au

(31

ay

-2h-

IV-

DF

add
ay ,,

pad
paz
R

+L=o
3

(4)

DS

(5)

318

N. FUJISAWA and R. KOBAYASHI

where h = 1 + y/R and p denotes pressure fluctuation and E the dissipation of turbulence
energy. It is assumed that the dissipation is locally isotropic. The terms in these equations
have been labelled in the following way: A = advection, P = production,
DF = diffusion,
R = redistribution,
DS = dissipation and PS = pressure-strain
correlation.
In the present experiment, advection, production and dissipation are estimated from the
measurement
of mean velocity, Reynolds stresses and dissipation.
The dissipation
was
obtained from the following equation [17]:
E = 15 v(aU/C3x)z.

(6)

In equation (6), the space derivative of u is obtained from the time derivative of u, by
adopting the modified Taylors hypothesis by Heskestad [17]. The dissipation obtained by
this method agrees with the result obtained by other method with the inertial subrange
spectrum [ 181.
Figures 1 l(ak(c) and 12 show the measured distributions
of the terms in equations (2).(5)
for the strong convex surface No. 2 at (1 = 112.5, which are compared with the plane wall jet
of the present experiment. In these figures, gains in equations (2t_(5) are shown as positive. All

DF. R
-0.1

..__/

3-002

.c

I
3

-o.lc

A-O.02

FIG. 11. Balances of Reynolds normal stresses equations. (a) u*, (b) r, (c) w*. ~~??
-strong
surface (No. 2, 0 = 112.5), --O- plane surface (x/d = - 10).

convex

Turbulence

characteristics

along strong

convex surfaces

Convex

Plane

0
FIG. 12. Balances

319

0.5
of Reynolds

1.0
shear stress equation.

1.5

y/b

(For caption

2.0
see Fig. 11.)

the terms are made non-dimensional

by the maximum velocity U,and the half-width b of the
wall jet. The sums of diffusion, redistribution
and pressure-strain
correlation are obtained as
the residue of equations, because they include the pressure fluctuation p, which is technically
difficult to measure. As the uncertainty
of dissipation
is estimated to +40x
[19], the
dissipation was corrected in a constant ratio as the integral of the diffusion of turbulence
energy equation across the wall jet to be zero [20], because the redistribution
are cancelled in
the turbulence energy equation obtained as a sum of equations (2t(4). In these figures it
should be noted that the scales of the ordinates for the strong convex wall jet are 5 times larger
than for the plane one. Thus, it appears that all the terms in the balances of Reynolds normal
and shear stresses are significantly increased by the strong convex curvature.
Examining the shape of the distributions,
it is found that the advection and dissipation for
the strong convex wall jets are approximately
similar to the plane ones, but the distributions
of the production
deviate from the plane one due to the strong convex curvature. The
production of u (which gives the largest gain in the Reynolds stresses balances for plane wall
jet) decreases in the jet region and becomes negative in the outer part of the jet region. This is
mainly caused by the first and third terms of production
in equation (2), in which the
magnitude of atJ/ax and U/R in strong convex wall jet increase to the same order as that of
aU/ay and these terms act against the second term in the jet region. This is largely responsible
for the large growth rate of the jet due to curvature. All the terms of production
of ,2
u
contribute

to the gain close to the surface. It is found

from Fig. 11 (a) that the advection is

larger than the production
except for the near wall region. Thus, the increases of u12 in the
strong convex wall jet is closely responsible for the increase of this advection. On the other
hand, significant increases in production
of v12 occur mainly due to the third term of
production
in equation (3). This term represents a centrifugal force effect on the interaction
of mean flow U and Reynolds
Production

shear stress uv and appears

only when the wall jet curves.

of w~ is zero when the mean flow is two-dimensional.

Therefore,

the dissipation

of w2 is balanced by the redistribution

term of equation (4). From Fig. 12, production of uc
for strong convex surfaces increases close to the surface contributed from the increase of the
in equation (5)].
normal stress difference of uf2 and c, [the third term of production
However, this term becomes small as y/b increases and the second term of production
in
equation (5) becomes dominent as is the case in the plane wall jet. This term represents the
interaction of mean velocity gradient aU/dy and turbulence fluctuation v. Thus, it appears
that the increase
production

of Y~ and uu for strong convex wall jet is related to the increase

of the

of 3 and ur, which are coupled with each other in the Reynolds stress
-_
equations. These differences of Reynolds stress balances in u, vt2 and uv cause the different
growths of their maximums with b/R, as was shown in Figs 9 and 10. It appears that the large

320

N. FUJISAWA
and R. KOBAYASHI

growth rate of the strong convex wall jet results from the strong interaction of mean flow and
turbulence through the advection of ti2 and production of u12and uu.
4. CONCLUSIONS

Effects of strong convex curvature on the mean flow and turbulence characteristics of twodimensional wall jets have been investigated in an experimental manner with three constant
radius convex surfaces. As the wall jets develop on the convex surfaces, the jet spreading and
the levels of the Reynolds normal and shear stresses increase significantly, compared with
those of the plane wall jet. It follows that these flow characterfstics are well correlated by the
parameter b/R (ratio of half width to the surface radius) except for the initial region of the
convex surfaces.
From the evaluation of the advection, production and dissipation terms in the Reynolds
stresses equations, it was found that all the terms are increased by strong convex curvature.
The production for strong convex wall
- jet deviates much from the plane one, which appears
in the decrease in the production of u12in the jet region, substantial increase in the production
of p and increase in the production of uu. It appears that the large increases of the
advection of uf2 and in the production of v, coupled with the production of Reynolds shear
stress, strengthen the interaction of mean flow and turbulence and cause the large growth of
the jet width in the strongly convex wall jet.
Acknowledgements-The authors wish to express their gratitude to Professor H. Shirai of Gunma University and to
the referees of this Journal for many helpful suggestions.
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