Abstract
Visual observations by Fage and Townend of the behavior of a turbulentβflow strean near a boundary and experimental data by Lin, Moulton, and Putnam of concentratiol profiles near a boundary contradict the commonly held concept of the βlaminar sublayer.β A model developed by Higbie and Danckwerts which is consistent with the visual obser vations of Page and Townend is used to describe the exchange of mass and heat between a turbulent fluid and a solid surface. It is postulated that masses of fluid are contiuously moving to and from the wall. The exchange process then depends on the average contact time of these fluid masses with the wall.
The agreement of the concentration profile predicted on the basis of the proposed model with experimental mass transfer data where the exchange process is rate controlling lends support to the usefulness of the model. No equivalent data are available for velocity profiles. Velocity data represent a condition where the transport process within the fluid is playing an important role; however, in the immediate vicinity of the wall the proposed model might serve as a rough approximation of the profile. Such an approximation is made in this paper, and the agreement obtained is much better than should be expected.