Asymptotic turbulent friction in 2D rough-walled flows

The friction f is the property of wall-bounded flows that sets the pumping cost of a pipeline, the draining capacity of a river, and other variables of practical relevance. For highly turbulent rough-walled pipe flows, f depends solely on the roughness length scale r, and the f - r relation may be expressed by the Strickler empirical scaling f ∝ r ^1/3 Here, we show experimentally that for soap film flows that are the two-dimensional (2D) equivalent of highly turbulent rough-walled pipe flows, f ∝ r and the f - r relation is not the same in 2D as in 3D. Our findings are beyond the purview of the standard theory of friction but consistent with a competing theory in which f is linked to the turbulent spectrum via the spectral exponent α: In 3D, α = 5/3 and the theory yields f ∝ r ^1/3; in 2D, α = 3 and the theory yields f ∝ r.