Effect of roughness on pressure fluctuations in a turbulent channel flow

Abstract

Direct numerical simulation is used to investigate the nature of pressure fluctuations induced by surface roughness in a turbulent channel flow at Re_\tau =400 for three-dimensional periodic roughness elements, whose peaks overlap approximately 25% of the logarithmic layer. The three-dimensional roughness elements alter the pressure statistics significantly, compared to the corresponding smooth-wall flow, in both the inner and outer (core) regions of the channel. The direct consequence of roughness is an increased form drag, associated with more intense pressure fluctuations. However, it also alters the pressure fluctuations in the outer layer of the flow, and modifies the length scales defined by two-point correlations. We also find that the depth of the roughness sublayer defined by the pressure fluctuations is very different from that given by the large- and small-scale statistics from the velocity field