Measurements of turbulent flow downstream of a rearward-facing step

Measurements have been made in a water channel of the flow in and around the separation region due to a rearward-facing step. Detailed profiles of mean velocities, turbulence intensities and Reynolds shear stress are presented. The turbulence measurements reveal the development of a new shear layer, which splits at reattachment with about one-sixth of the mass flow deflected upstream. The new shear layer is associated with a region of roughly constant values of both the non-dimensional mixing length l/x and the shear correlation coefficient K . The mixing-length ratio is larger than that found in plane mixing layers, whereas the shear coefficient is roughly the same. There is strong evidence that near the wall the length scales increase more rapidly with distance from the wall than in an attached boundary layer, and that a local maximum occurs.