Scalar transport in a quasi two-dimensional turbulent wake interacting with a boundary layer

An experimental study of heat transport in the interaction region between the wake of a cylinder and a turbulent boundary layer is presented in this work. The cylinder was placed parallel to a flat plate and normal to the flow. Its position was selected above the boundary layer edge, so that the lower part of the wake was interacting with the boundary layer. Heat was supplied to the boundary layer flow by means of a line heat source. Presence of surface roughness on the cylinder resulted in the deviation of the velocity power spectrum scaling region from the -5/3 power law which is characteristic of three-dimensional turbulence. Point measurements of the instantaneous values of two velocity components and temperature have been taken using hot-wire anemometry. Two turbulent scalar flux components and a Reynolds shear stress component have been obtained directly from the experimental data. Results were assessed in conjunction with the periodic coherent structures in the wake (a von Karman vortex street) using a phase-averaging technique that provided a clear picture of the heat transport procedures involved. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.