Effects of small-scale freestream turbulence on turbulent boundary layers with and without thermal convection

Effects of weak, small-scale freestream turbulence on turbulent boundary layers with and without thermal convection are experimentally investigated using a wind tunnel. Two experiments are carried out: the first is isothermal boundary layers with and without grid turbulence, and the second is non-isothermal boundary layers with and without grid turbulence. Both boundary layers develop under a small favorable pressure gradient. For the latter case, the bottom wall of the test section is heated at a constant wall temperature to investigate the effects of thermal convection under the effects of freestream turbulence. For both cases, the turbulence intensity in the freestream is T-u = 1.3% similar to 2.4%, and the integral length scale of freestream turbulence, L-infinity, is much smaller than the boundary layer thickness delta, i.e., L-infinity/delta << 1. The Reynolds numbers Re-theta based on the momentum thickness and freestream speed U-infinity are Re-theta = 560, 1100, 1310, and 2330 in isothermal boundary layers without grid turbulence. Instantaneous velocities, U and V, and instantaneous temperature T are simultaneously measured using a hot-wire anemometry and a constant-current resistance thermometer. The results show that the rms velocities and Reynolds shear stress normalized by the friction velocity are strongly suppressed by the freestream turbulence throughout the boundary layer in both isothermal and non-isothermal boundary layers. In the non-isothermal boundary layers, the normalized rms temperature and vertical turbulent heat flux are also strongly suppressed by the freestream turbulence. Turbulent momentum and heat transfer at the wall are enhanced by the freestream turbulence and the enhancement is notable in unstable stratification. The power spectra of u, v, and theta and their cospectra show that motions of almost all scales are suppressed by the freestream turbulence in both the isothermal and non-isothermal boundary layers. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3596269]