Turbulent pipe flow: Statistics, Re-dependence, structures and similarities with channel and boundary layer flows

Direct numerical simulation data of fully developed turbulent pipe flow are extensively compared with those of turbulent channel flow and zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer flow for Re-tau up to 1 000. In the near-wall region, a high degree of similarity is observed in the three flow cases in terms of one-point statistics, probability density functions of the wall-shear stress and pressure, spectra, Reynolds stress budgets and advection velocity of the turbulent structures. This supports the notion that the near-wall region is universal for pipe and channel flow. Probability density functions of the wall shear stress, streamwise turbulence intensities, one-dimensional spanwise/azimuthal spectra of the streamwise velocity and Reynolds-stress budgets are very similar near the wall in the three flow cases, suggesting that the three cauonical wall-bounded flows share wally features. In the wake region, the wean streamwise velocity and Reynolds stress budgets show smile expected differences.