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Asymptotic turbulent friction in 2D rough-walled flows

The friction f is the property of wall-bounded flows that sets the pumping cost of a pipeline, the draining capacity of a river, and other variables of practical relevance. For highly turbulent rough-walled pipe flows, f depends solely on the roughness length scale r, and the f -- r relation may be expressed by the Strickler empirical scaling f $\propto$ r$^{\frac{1}{3}}$. Here, we show experimentally that for soap film flows that are the two-dimensional (2D) equivalent of highly turbulent rough-walled pipe flows, f $\propto$ r and the f -- r relation is not the same in 2D as in 3D. Our findings are beyond the purview of the standard theory of friction but consistent with a competing theory in which f is linked to the turbulent spectrum via the spectral exponent $α$: In 3D, $α$ = 5/3 and the theory yields f $\propto$ r$^{\frac{1}{3}}$; in 2D, $α$ = 3 and the theory yields f $\propto$ r.