Direct numerical simulation of the turbulent boundary layer on a rotating disk

The von Kármán turbulent boundary layer (vKTBL) is a valuable example of a canonical 3DTBL, with several properties making it worthy of study. By leveraging modern hardware accelerators, we perform a DNS of the vKTBL at a higher resolution and with a more expansive domain than considered in the existing literature. We also report statistics from the first DNS of heat (scalar) transfer in the vKTBL, with relevance for engineering and geophysical applications. We present analyses of budgets of the Reynolds stresses and turbulent heat flux, as well as analysis of boundary layer spectra and structures, with particular emphasis placed on explaining differences between the mechanisms of scalar and momentum transport in the vKTBL.