On the effect of Reynolds number on von Kármán’s constant

Abstract

Fully developed turbulence measurements in pipe flow were made in the Reynolds number ranging from 10×10³ to 350×10³ with a hot-wire anemometer and a Pitot tube. Comparisons were made with the experimental results of previous work. The mean velocity profile and the turbulent intensity in the experiments indicate that for the mean velocity profile, in the fully developed turbulent pipe flow, von Kármán's constant κ is a function of Reynolds number, i.e. κ increases slowly with the Reynolds number. The empirical relationships could not be considered to be accurate enough to describe the fully developed turbulence over the whole Reynolds number range in pipe flow.