The analogy between streamline curvature and buoyancy in turbulent shear flow

Abstract

A formal algebraic analogy is drawn between meteorological parameters, such as the Richardson number, and the parameters describing the effect of rotation or streamline curvature on a turbulent flow. The analogy between thephenomenais a good first approximation. Semi-quantitative use of the analogy to apply meteorological data to curved shear layers shows that the effects of curvature on the apparent mixing length are appreciable if the shear-layer thickness exceeds roughly 1/300 of the radius of curvature; larger effects may occur in compressible flow. Application of the Monin-Oboukhov formula considerably improves the agreement between prediction and experiment in boundary layers on curved surfaces.