Li, HongweiNalim, M. RaziMerkle, Charles L.2014-02-262014-02-262011-08Li, H., Nalim, M. R., & Merkle, C. L. (2011). Transient thermal response of turbulent compressible boundary layers. Journal of Heat Transfer, 133(8), 081701.https://hdl.handle.net/1805/4045A numerical method is developed with the capability to predict transient thermal boundary layer response under various flow and thermal conditions. The transient thermal boundary layer variation due to a moving compressible turbulent fluid of varying temperature was numerically studied on a two-dimensional semi-infinite flat plate. The compressible Reynolds-averaged boundary layer equations are transformed into incompressible form through the Dorodnitsyn–Howarth transformation and then solved with similarity transformations. Turbulence is modeled using a two-layer eddy viscosity model developed by Cebeci and Smith, and the turbulent Prandtl number formulation originally developed by Kays and Crawford. The governing differential equations are discretized with the Keller-box method. The numerical accuracy is validated through grid-independence studies and comparison with the steady state solution. In turbulent flow as in laminar, the transient heat transfer rates are very different from that obtained from quasi-steady analysis. It is found that the time scale for response of the turbulent boundary layer to far-field temperature changes is 40% less than for laminar flow, and the turbulent local Nusselt number is approximately 4 times that of laminar flow at the final steady state.en-USboundary layerturbulentwave rotorArticle