Wall Pressure Fluctuation in a Turbulent Channel Flow

Turbulent flow is a complex three dimensional system of velocity and pressure fluctuations in a fluid that creates vorticity, eddies and other flow structures. In this study we are specifically concerned with the surface pressure fluctuations below a turbulent boundary layer which is one of the primary sources of panel vibration on aircraft fuselages and ship hulls as well a major issue in ship hydrodynamics. The most accepted analytical approaches to describe the surface pressure fluctuations are the Chase model [1] for the surface pressure wavenumber spectrum and Goody’s model [2] for the pressure spectrum at a point. The most accurate numerical approach to use is Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) [3]. In this study we compared Chase and Goody’s models against DNS of a turbulent channel flow in the space–time and wavenumber-frequency domains and estimated regions of convergence between the analytical models and the DNS data.