Measurement and Prediction of the Effects of Nonuniform Surface Roughness on Turbulent Flow Friction Coefficients

The status of prediction methods for friction coefficients in turbulent flows over nonuniform or random rough surfaces is reviewed. Experimental data for friction factors in fully developed pipe flows with Reynolds numbers between 10,000 and 600,000 are presented for two nonuniform rough surfaces. One surface was roughened with a mixture of cones and hemispheres which had the same height and base diameter and were arranged in a uniform array. The other surface was roughened with a mixture of two sizes of cones and two sizes of hemispheres. These data are compared with predictions made using the previously published discrete element prediction approach of Taylor, Coleman, and Hodge. The agreement between the data and the predictions is excellent.