Human respiratory events, such as coughing and sneezing, play an important role in the host-to-host airborne transmission of diseases. Thus, there has been a substantial effort in understanding these processes: various analytical or numerical models have been developed to describe them, but their validity has not been fully assessed due to the difficulty of a direct comparison with real human exhalations. In this study, we report a unique comparison between datasets that have both detailed measurements of a real human cough using spirometer and particle tracking velocimetry, and direct numerical simulation at similar conditions. By examining the experimental data, we find that the injection velocity at the mouth is not uni-directional. Instead, the droplets are injected into various directions, with their trajectories forming a cone shape in space. Furthermore, we find that the period of droplet emissions is much shorter than that of the cough: experimental results indicate that the droplets with an initial diameter ≳10μm are emitted within the first 0.05 s, whereas the cough duration is closer to 1 s. These two features (the spread in the direction of injection velocity and the short duration of droplet emission) are incorporated into our direct numerical simulation, leading to an improved agreement with the experimental measurements. Thus, to have accurate representations of human expulsions in respiratory models, it is imperative to include parametrisation of these two features.

The probability density function (PDF) of the instantaneous streamwise velocity has consistently been used to extract information on the formation of uniform momentum zones (UMZs) in wall-bounded flows. Its temporal evolution has previously revealed patterns associated with the geometry and amplitude of the underlying velocity fluctuations [Laskari and McKeon, J. Fluid Mech. 913, A6 (2021)0022-112010.1017/jfm.2020.1163]. In this paper, we examine the robustness of these patterns in a variety of data sets including experiments and wall-bounded flow models. Experimental data sets spanning a range of Reynolds numbers, with very long temporal and spatial domains, suggest that the rate of the observed temporal variations scales in inner units. The use of a convection velocity, uniform across heights, to transform space into time has a marginal effect on these features. Similarly, negligible effects are observed between internal and external geometries. Synthetic databases generated following the resolvent framework and the attached eddy model are employed to draw comparisons to the experimental databases. Our findings highlight the distinctive strengths of each: The broadband frequency input of the attached eddy model allows for a better statistical description as opposed to a narrow frequency input in the resolvent data sets; instantaneously, however, representative eddies are seen to lack some structural details leading to the observed temporal behavior, which is better replicated by resolvent modes. Overall, given the considerable variety of the input data tested, the agreement between the data sets highlights the robustness of the spatiotemporal characteristics of the examined UMZs. It also underpins the need for their proper inclusion in UMZ modeling from a statistical as well as an instantaneous viewpoint; the current analysis accentuates important performance indicators for both.

In this study, we develop an analytical model to predict the turbulent boundary layer downstream of a step-change in the surface roughness where upstream flow conditions are given. We first revisit the classical model of Elliott (Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, vol. 39, 1958, pp. 1048-1054), who modelled the velocity distribution within and above the internal layer with a simple piecewise logarithmic profile, and evolved the velocity profile using the streamwise momentum equation. Elliott's model was originally developed for an atmospheric surface layer, and to make the model applicable to a spatially developing turbulent boundary layer with finite thickness, we propose a number of more physical refinements, including adding a wake function to the velocity profile, considering the growth of the entire boundary layer in the streamwise direction, and using a more realistic shear stress profile in the momentum equation. In particular, we implement the blending model (Li et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 923, 2021, p. A18) to account for the deviation of the mean flow within the internal layer from a canonical velocity profile based on the local wall condition. These refinements lead to improved agreement between the prediction and the measurement, especially in the vicinity of the rough-to-smooth change.

This study presents an experimental dataset documenting the evolution of a turbulent boundary layer downstream of a rough-to-smooth surface transition. To investigate the effect of upstream flow conditions, two groups of experiments are conducted. For the Group-Re cases, a nominally constant viscous-scaled equivalent sand grain roughness is maintained on the rough surface, while the friction Reynolds number ranges from 7100 to 21 000. For the Group-ks cases, is maintained while ranges from 111 to 228. The wall-shear stress on the downstream smooth surface is measured directly using oil-film interferometry to redress previously reported uncertainties in the skin-friction coefficient recovery trends. In the early development following the roughness transition, the flow in the internal layer is not in equilibrium with the wall-shear stress. This conflicts with the common practise of modelling the mean velocity profile as two log laws below and above the internal layer height, as first proposed by Elliott (Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, vol. 39, 1958, pp. 1048-1054). As a solution to this, the current data are used to model the recovering mean velocity semi-empirically by blending the corresponding rough-wall and smooth-wall profiles. The over-energised large-scale motions leave a strong footprint in the near-wall region of the energy spectrum, the frequency and magnitude of which exhibit dependence on and, respectively. The energy distribution in near-wall small scales is mostly unaffected by the presence of the outer flow with rough-wall characteristics, which can be used as a surrogate measure to extract the local friction velocity.

The evolution of turbulent boundary layers downstream of a rough-to-smooth transition is investigated at a range of Reynolds numbers. Measurements are performed at friction Reynolds numbers of 4100, 7100, 14000 and 21000 using hotwire anemometry. The wall-shear stress on the smooth surface in each case is measured directly using oil film interferometry. The growth of the internal layer is studied, and a full recovery of all energetic scales in the energy spectrum of the streamwise velocity fluctuations is observed at 80 boundary layer thicknesses downstream of the roughness transition. A comparison of recovery lengths required for various flow statistics (skin-friction coefficient and energy spectrum) is also presented.

This paper examines the recovery of the wall-shear stress of a turbulent boundary layer that has undergone a sudden transition from a rough to a smooth surface. Early work of Antonia & Luxton (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 53, 1972, pp. 737-757) questioned the reliability of standard smooth-wall methods for measuring wall-shear stress in such conditions, and subsequent studies show significant disagreement depending on the approach used to determine the wall-shear stress downstream. Here we address this by utilising a collection of experimental databases at that have access to both 'direct' and 'indirect' measures of the wall-shear stress to understand the recovery to equilibrium conditions of the new surface. Our results reveal that the viscous region recovers almost immediately to an equilibrium state with the new wall conditions; however, the buffer region and beyond takes several boundary layer thicknesses before recovering to equilibrium conditions, which is longer than previously thought. A unique direct numerical simulation database of a wall-bounded flow with a rough-to-smooth wall transition is employed to confirm these findings. In doing so, we present evidence that any estimate of the wall-shear stress from the mean velocity profile in the buffer region or further away from the wall tends to underestimate its magnitude in the near vicinity of the rough-to-smooth transition, and this is likely to be partly responsible for the large scatter of recovery lengths to equilibrium conditions reported in the literature. Our results also reveal that smaller energetic scales in the near-wall region recover to an equilibrium state associated with the new wall conditions within one boundary layer thickness downstream of the transition, while larger energetic scales exhibit an over-energised state for several boundary layer thicknesses downstream of the transition. Based on these observations, an alternative approach to estimating the wall-shear stress from the premultiplied energy spectrum is proposed.