A new facility for studying high Reynolds number incompressible turbulent b
oundary layer flows has been constructed. It consists of a moderately sized
wind tunnel, completely enclosed by a pressure vessel, which can raise the
ambient air pressure in and around the wind tunnel to 8 atmospheres. This
results in a Reynolds number range of about 20:1, while maintaining incompr
essible flow. Results are presented for the zero pressure gradient flat pla
te boundary layer over a momentum thickness Reynolds number range 1500-1500
0. Scaling issues for high Reynolds number non-equilibrium boundary layers
are discussed, with data comparing the three-dimensional turbulent boundary
layer flow over a swept bump at Reynolds numbers of 3800 and 8600. It is f
ound that successful prediction of these types of flows must include length
scales which do not scale on Reynolds number, but are inherent to the geom
etry of the flow. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.