Analytic Model of the Universal Structure of Turbulent Boundary Layers

Abstract

Turbulent boundary layers exhibit a universal structure which nevertheless is rather complex, being composed of a viscous sub-layer, a buffer zone, and a turbulent log-law region. In this letter we present a simple analytic model of turbulent boundary layers which culminates in explicit formulae for the profiles of the mean velocity, the kinetic energy and the Reynolds stress as a function of the distance from the wall. The resulting profiles are in close quantitative agreement with measurements over the entire structure of the boundary layer, without any need of re-fitting in the different zones.