A Model for High-Reynolds-Number Flow Past Rough-Walled Circular Cylinders

A simple analytical model for two-dimensional mean flow at very large Reynolds numbers around a circular cylinder with distributed roughness is presented and the results of the theory are compared with experiment. The theory uses the wake-source potential-flow model of Parkinson and Jandali together with an extension to the case of rough-walled circular cylinders of the Stratford-Townsend theory for turbulent boundary-layer separation. In addition, a semi-empirical relation between the base-pressure coefficient and the location of separation is used. Calculation of the boundary-layer development, needed as part of the theory, is accomplished using an integral method, taking into account the influence of surface roughness on the laminar boundary layer and transition as well as on the turbulent boundary layer. Good agreement with experiment is shown by the results of the theory. The significant effects of surface roughness on the mean-pressure distribution on a circular cylinder at large Reynolds numbers and the physical mechanisms giving rise to these effects are demonstrated by the model.