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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Experimental Investigation of the Flow Structure over a Delta Wing Via Flow Visualization Methods
Published on: April 23, 2018
Laminar superlayer at the turbulence boundary
1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation, Bunsenstrasse 10, 37073 Göttingen, Germany. markus.holzner@ds.mpg.de
Abstract:
In this Letter we present results from particle tracking velocimetry and direct numerical simulation that are congruent with the existence of a laminar superlayer, as proposed in the pioneering work of Corrsin and Kistler (NACA, Technical Report No. 1244, 1955). We find that the local superlayer velocity is dominated by a viscous component and its magnitude is comparable to the characteristic velocity of the smallest scales of motion. This slow viscous process involves a large surface area so that the global rate of turbulence spreading is set by the largest scales of motion. These findings are important for a better understanding of mixing of mass and momentum in a variety of flows where thin layers of shear exist. Examples are boundary layers, clouds, planetary atmospheres, and oceans.
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