Structure of Turbulence and Drag Reduction

Book excerpt: In 1976 a similar titled IUTAM Symposium (Structure of Turbulence and Drag Reduction) was held in Washington . However, the progress made during the last thirteen years as weil as the much promising current research desired a second one this year. In Washington drag reduction by additives and by direct manipulation of the walls (compliant walls and heated surfaces) were discussed. In the meantime it became evident that drag reduction also occurs when turbulence is influenced by geometrical means, e.g. by influencing the pressure distribution by the shape of the body (airfoils) or by the introduction of streamwise perturbances on a body (riblets). In the recent years turbulence research has seen increasing attention being focused on the investigation of coherent structures, mainly in Newtonian fluids. We all know that these structures are a significant feature of turbulent flows, playing an important role in the energy balance in such flows. However their place in turbulence theories as weil as the factors influencing their development are still poorly understood. Consequently, the investigation of phenomena in which the properties of coherent structures are alte red provides a promising means of improving our understanding of turbulent flows in general.