RESUMO

In order to better understand boundary layer turbulence at high Reynolds number, the fluctuating wall pressure was measured within the turbulent boundary layer that forms over the salt playa of Utah's west desert. Pressure measurements simultaneously acquired from an array of nine microphones were analyzed and interpreted. The wall pressure intensity was computed and compared with low Reynolds number data. This analysis indicated that the variance in wall pressure increases logarithmically with Reynolds number. Computed autocorrelations provide evidence for a hierarchy of surface pressure producing scales. Space-time correlations are used to compute broadband advection velocities. The advection velocity data indicate an approximately logarithmic increase in U_a with increasing axial sensor separations. To the author's knowledge, the present pressure measurements, to date, constitute the highest Reynolds number, low noise, well resolved measurements of fluctuating surface pressure.