Experimental study of higher-order moments in shear-driven boundary layers with rotation

The results of laboratory wall turbulence experiments on a shear-driven rotating boundary layer are presented. The experiments were carried out in the Turin University Laboratory rotating water tank. The flow was generated by changing the rotation speed of the platform and measured by means of particle image velocimetry. In order to analyse the influence of the rotation and of surface roughness, different cases were examined. Several rotation periods were considered. The measurements were performed both over a smooth surface and over a rough-to-smooth transition. Mean flows and the higher-order moments of the velocity probability density function are shown and discussed together with a comparison of the different experimental cases, theory and large-eddy simulations. © 2008 Cambridge University Press.