Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions
Published on: February 22, 2018
Evidence of the kappa1-1 law in a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer
T B Nickels1, I Marusic, S Hafez
1Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK. tbn22@eng.cam.ac.uk
Abstract:
Dimensional analysis and overlap arguments lead to a prediction of a region in the streamwise velocity spectrum of wall-bounded turbulent flows in which the dependence on the streamwise wave number, kappa(1), is given by kappa(1)(-1). Some recent experiments have questioned the existence of this region. In this Letter, experimental spectra are presented which support the existence of the kappa(1)(-1) law in a high-Reynolds-number boundary layer. This Letter presents the experimental results and discusses the theoretical and experimental issues involved in examining the existence of the kappa(1)(-1) law and the reasons why it has proved so elusive.
Related Concept Videos
Poiseuille's Law and Reynolds Number
Boundary Layer Characteristics
The Buckingham Pi Theorem
Reynolds Transport Theorem
Laminar Flow
Turbulent Flow

