Turbulent thermal boundary layers with temperature-dependent viscosity

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) over isothermally heated walls were performed, and the influence of the wall-heating on the thermal boundary layers was investigated. The DNS adopt an empirical relation for the temperature-dependent viscosity of water. The Prandtl number therefore changes with temperature, while the Péclet number is constant. Two wall temperatures (Tw = 70 °C and 99 °C) were considered relative to T∞ = 30 °C, and a reference simulation of TBL with constant viscosity was also performed for comparison. In the variable viscosity flow, the mean and variance of the scalar, when normalized by the friction temperature deficit, decrease relative to the constant viscosity flow. A relation for the mean scalar which takes into account the variable viscosity is proposed. Appropriate scalings for the scalar fluctuations and the scalar flux are also introduced, and are shown to be applicable for both variable and constant viscosity flows. Due to the modification of the near-wall turbulence, the Stanton number and the Reynolds analogy factor are augmented by 10% and 44%, respectively, in the variable viscosity flow. An identity for the Stanton number is derived and shows that the mean wall-normal velocity and wall-normal scalar flux cause the increase in the heat transfer coefficient. Finally, the augmented near-wall velocity fluctuations lead to an increase of the wall-normal scalar flux, which contributes favorably to the enhanced heat transfer at the wall.