Investigation of a reattaching turbulent shear layer Flow over a backward-facing step

The paper studies incompressible flow over a backward-facing step in order to investigate the flow characteristics in the separated shear layer, the reattachment zone, and the redeveloping boundary layer after reattachment. It is shown that turbulent intensities and shear stress reach maxima in the reattachment zone, followed by rapid decay near the surface after reattachment. In addition, it is found that downstream of reattachment, the flow returns very slowly to the structure of an ordinary turbulent boundary layer.