On the streamwise velocity variance in the near-wall region of turbulent flows

Abstract: We study the behaviour of the streamwise velocity variance in turbulent wall-bounded flows using a DNS database of pipe flow up to $Re_{\tau} \approx 12000$. The analysis of the spanwise spectra in the viscous near-wall region strongly hints to the presence of an overlap layer between the inner- and the outer-scaled spectral ranges, featuring a $k_{\theta}^{-1+\alpha}$ decay (with $k_{\theta}$ the wavenumber in the azimuthal direction, and $\alpha \approx 0.18$), hence shallower than suggested by the classical formulation of the attached-eddy model. The key implication is that the contribution to the streamwise velocity variance from the largest scales of motion (superstructures) slowly declines as $Re_{\tau}^{-\alpha}$, and the integrated variance follows a defect power law of the type $\left< u^2 \right>^+ = A - B \, Re_{\tau}^{-\alpha}$, with constants $A$ and $B$ depending on $y^+$. The DNS data very well support this behaviour, which implies that strict wall scaling is restored in the infinite Reynolds number limit. The extrapolated limit distribution of the streamwise velocity variance features a buffer-layer peak value of $\left< u^2 \right>^+ \approx 12.1$, and an additional outer peak with larger magnitude. The analysis of the velocity spectra also suggests a similar behaviour of the dissipation rate of the streamwise velocity variance at the wall, which is expected to attain a limiting value of about $0.28$, hence slightly exceeding the value $0.25$ which was assumed in previous analyses~\citep{chen_21}. We have found evidence suggesting that the reduced near-wall influence of wall-attached eddies is likely linked to the formation of underlying turbulent Stokes layers.