Generalised least squares approach for estimation of the log-law parameters of turbulent boundary layers

Fuente: arXiv
Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs principaux: Ferreira, M. Aguiar, Ganapathisubramani, B.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
_version_ 1866913026774401024
author Ferreira, M. Aguiar
Ganapathisubramani, B.
author_facet Ferreira, M. Aguiar
Ganapathisubramani, B.
contents Uncertainty in estimating the log-law parameters is arguably the greatest obstacle to establishing definitive conclusions regarding their numerical values and universality. This challenge is exacerbated by the limited number of studies that provide thorough uncertainty analyses of experimental data and fitting procedures, and those that do often adopt different approaches, undermining direct comparisons. The present study applies the generalised least squares (GLS) principle to the log-law velocity profile to establish a standardised, comprehensive framework for quantifying uncertainty in the log-law parameters across datasets. GLS contrasts with ordinary least squares (OLS) and weighted least squares (WLS), which do not account for correlation in errors across measured quantities, as well as with alternative heuristic methods that independently sample primitive variables. Instead, it incorporates a full covariance matrix of the residuals, propagated from the uncertainties in the primitive variables and consistent with the experimental methods employed. The study presents a systematic analysis of the response of the log-law regression model using synthetic data, emulating measurements from a hot-wire anemometer mounted on a linear traverse. This analysis serves as a predictive tool for experimental design, identifying a priori the dominant sources of uncertainty in the log-law parameters and potential mitigation strategies. The study also provides new insights into the correlation between the log-law parameters and proposes a new fitting procedure that eliminates the need to prescribe the location and extent of the log region. The open-source Python implementation of the log-law regression model is available for download on GitHub at https://github.com/ma2ferreira/gls_loglaw.git.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_11859
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generalised least squares approach for estimation of the log-law parameters of turbulent boundary layers
Ferreira, M. Aguiar
Ganapathisubramani, B.
Fluid Dynamics
Methodology
Uncertainty in estimating the log-law parameters is arguably the greatest obstacle to establishing definitive conclusions regarding their numerical values and universality. This challenge is exacerbated by the limited number of studies that provide thorough uncertainty analyses of experimental data and fitting procedures, and those that do often adopt different approaches, undermining direct comparisons. The present study applies the generalised least squares (GLS) principle to the log-law velocity profile to establish a standardised, comprehensive framework for quantifying uncertainty in the log-law parameters across datasets. GLS contrasts with ordinary least squares (OLS) and weighted least squares (WLS), which do not account for correlation in errors across measured quantities, as well as with alternative heuristic methods that independently sample primitive variables. Instead, it incorporates a full covariance matrix of the residuals, propagated from the uncertainties in the primitive variables and consistent with the experimental methods employed. The study presents a systematic analysis of the response of the log-law regression model using synthetic data, emulating measurements from a hot-wire anemometer mounted on a linear traverse. This analysis serves as a predictive tool for experimental design, identifying a priori the dominant sources of uncertainty in the log-law parameters and potential mitigation strategies. The study also provides new insights into the correlation between the log-law parameters and proposes a new fitting procedure that eliminates the need to prescribe the location and extent of the log region. The open-source Python implementation of the log-law regression model is available for download on GitHub at https://github.com/ma2ferreira/gls_loglaw.git.
title Generalised least squares approach for estimation of the log-law parameters of turbulent boundary layers
topic Fluid Dynamics
Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.11859