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Streamwise turbulence statistics in the range from Reτ = 990 to Reτ = 20 750 at the High Reynolds Number Actual Flow Facility at the National Metrology Institute of Japan are presented, specifically focusing on the Reynolds number dependence of the inner peak turbulence intensity. Velocity measurements are conducted using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), taking account of problems specific to this method, with the aim of providing reliable experimental results. The control volume and the fringe pattern of LDV, both of which influence turbulence statistics, are directly measured using a rotary wire device, and they are used to correct the measured turbulence intensity using methods developed in this study. The present results for mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles agree well with direct numerical simulation data. The inner peak turbulence intensity in this pipe experiment increases with the increasing Reynolds number. It is found that the Reynolds number dependence of the inner peak up to Reτ = 20 750 is very similar to that in a turbulent boundary layer (TBL). The slope of the outer logarithmic region in the turbulence intensity profile is twice the slope obtained from the relation between the inner peak and the Reynolds number. This relation is also consistent with that for TBL flow.

This paper reports further experimental results obtained in high Reynolds number actual flow facility in Japan. The experiments were performed in a pipe flow with water, and the friction Reynolds number was varied up to Reτ = 5.3 × 104. This high Reynolds number was achieved by using water as the working fluid and adopting a large-diameter pipe (387 mm) while controlling the flow rate and temperature with high accuracy and precision. The streamwise velocity was measured by laser Doppler velocimetry close to the wall, and the mean velocity profile, called log-law profile U+ = (1/κ) ln(y+) + B, is especially focused. After careful verification of the mean velocity profiles in terms of the flow rate accuracy and an evaluation of the consistency of the present results with those from previously measurements in a smaller pipe (100 mm), it was found that the value of κ asymptotically approaches a constant value of κ = 0.384.

The friction factor for a fully developed pipe flow is examined at high Reynolds numbers up to ReD = 1.8 × 107 with high accuracy using the high Reynolds number actual flow facility “Hi-Reff” at AIST, NMIJ. The precise measurement of the friction factor is achieved by the highly accurate measurement of the flow rate, and the measurement uncertainty is estimated to be approximately 0.9% with a coverage factor of k = 2. The result examined here is obviously different from the Prandtl equation and the experimental results from the superpipe at Princeton University. The deviation of the present result from the Prandtl equation in the lower Reynolds number region is approximately 2.5% and −3% at the higher Reynolds number. For ReD 2.0 × 105, and it increases with the Reynolds number and reaches −6% at ReD = 1.0 × 107. The Karman constant estimated by the measured fric...