Ghosh - 550 Page 1 2/1/2014

Solutions of Boundary Layer Equations

Now we develop the solution strategies for the boundary layer equations given by
Prandtl !e"e"ber in his 2 equations of #ontinuity and $-"o"entu"% the pressure
gradient term is assumed to be known.
&ontinuity'
0
y
v
$
u

()*
$-"o"entu"'
2
2
1
y
u
v
dx
dp
y
u
v
x
u
u

(+*
,hus this set be#o"es "athe"ati#ally solvable ,here are two approa#hes to solve
boundary layer equations -e shall present both here .owever the e"phasis will be in
the se#ond approa#h sin#e it is easier to wor/ with and gives an insight to the behavior of
fluid parti#les in the boundary layer ,he standard approa#hes are'
(i* 0$a#t solution "ethod (+lasius1 2olution*
(ii* )ppro$i"ate 2olution 3ethod (4ar"an-Pohlhausen 3ethod*
,he se#ond approa#h is also #alled the "o"entu" integral "ethod -e begin with the
e$a#t solution "ethod given by +lasius
Exact Solution Method
+lasius perfor"ed a transformation technique to #hange the set of two partial
differential equations () and +* into a single ordinary differential equation .e solved
the boundary layer over a flat plate in e$ternal flows 5f we assu"e the plate is oriented
along the $-a$is% we "ay negle#t the pressure gradient ter"% ie%
0
$
p

,he
traditional approa#h before +lasius was to drop out the #ontinuity equation fro" the set
by the introdu#tion of the strea" fun#tion ($%y* -ith this definition'
(+*
6
6
2
2 2
y y $ y $ y

,
_

,
_

.owever% +lasius used this equation in non-di"ensional variables 7et us define ($%y*
as a single variable by'
8
$
y

or
$
8
y

5t is easy to verify that will be non-

di"ensional by substituting the units of % 8% and y .e also introdu#ed the non-
di"ensional strea" fun#tion given by' (&orre#tion' Please repla#e by $ in the se#tion
below*
8
* ( f

Ghosh - 550 Page 2 2/1/2014
8sing "athe"ati#al "anipulation fro" #al#ulus% we "ay write'
( ) ( )

f 8
8
f 8
y y
u
( )
8
u
f 9 non-di"ensional velo#ity fun#tion
( )
1
]
1

$
f
8 f
8
2
1
$
v
(by #hain rule*
( )
1
]
1

$
f
8 f
8
2
1
+ut sin#e
$ 2
$
2
1 8
y
$
2
6

,
_

% we "ay si"plify v into
[ ] f - f

8
2
1
v

2i"ilarly we #an show'
f
8
8
y
u
% f
8
2
1
$
u

and
f
8
y
u
2
2
2

,
_

,herefore% the original $-"o"entu" #an be written as

0 f f f + 2
upon
si"plifi#ations Note that this is an ordinary differential equation with as the
independent variable and f is the dependent variable ,o solve this third order equation
we need three boundary #onditions 7et us #he#/ the figure below
-e "ay write at y 9 0% u 9 v 9 0 into a different for"'
0 f f % 0 )t

2i"ilarly as y % u 9 8 "ay be written as
1 f % At
8sing these three boundary #onditions the solution of the governing equation "ay be
obtained by the use of power series solution and shown in the table below ,he i"portant
things to note are the points #orresponding to the edge of the boundary layer 2in#e u
($*
)t y 9 % u 9 8
)t $ 9 0% ($* 9 0 )t y 9 0 (on wall*%
u 9 v 9 0 (no slip #ondition*
8
y
$
Ghosh - 550 Page 6 2/1/2014
8% f 1% (we #hoose the value of ::15% sin#e is defined at u 9 ::8* ,hus
0 5
8
y

fro" the table below'
8sing the alternate definition%

y
% we get
$
!e
0 5
% or
8
0 5

Now%
( ) u v
x
v
where
x
v
y
u
yx
<<

,
_

0
,herefore% the wall shear stress%
w
% "ay be written as
$
2
0 y
w
!e
8 662
y
u

-e define Skin Friction oefficient as the non-di"ensional wall shear stress% given by'
$
2
w
f
!e
;;4 0
8
2
1
&

5n this #ase both

$
!e
0 5
* $ (


and
$
!e
;;4 0
&
f are #lai"ed to be e$a#t solution of
steady% la"inar boundary layer over a flat plate oriented along the $-a$is
-e noti#e fro" the above e$pressions that both ($* and &
f
#hange along the plate
-hile ($* in#reases (boundary layer grows* with % &
f
0 as $ +oth quantities
Ghosh - 550 Page 4 2/1/2014
depend on the variable !eynolds nu"ber% !e
$

1
]
1

8
5f the plate length is not infinite%
how do we obtain the shear for#e on it< -e "ay do this by integrating dire#tly or% the
use of the #on#ept of =overall 2/in >ri#tion &oeffi#ient? >or e$a"ple% for a finite length%
7% of the plate% the shear for#e

)
0 y
y$ y$
d) >
where% wd$ d)
but'
,
_

2
f w
0 y
y$
8
2
1
&
,herefore the
$
!e
;;4 0
* $ ( &
f "ay be substituted above and >
y$
obtained by integration
)lternately% define f
&
9 @verall 2/in 0ffe#t &oeffi#ient

7
0
d$ * $ ( &
7
1
f
,hus the
f
&
is nothing but =length-averaged? fri#tion #oeffi#ient 8nli/e &
f
($*% f
&
is a #onstant
value for the whole plate 2i"ilarly the average shear stress for the plate "ay be defined
as

7
0
w w
d$ * $ (
7
1
>inally% the shear for#e on the plate "ay be written as the
produ#t of w

and the plate area

!pproximate Solution Method
8nli/e the +lasius solution% whi#h is e$a#t% appro$i"ate solution method assumes an
approximate shape of the "elocity profile. ,his velo#ity profile is then utiliAed to
evaluate quantities related to the governing differential equation% given below by 4ar"an
and Pohlhausen ,his "ethod% whi#h is #alled the "o"entu" integral "ethod% #hanges
the two equations given by Prandtl into a single differential equation ,his equation over
a flat plate "ay be written as'
d$
d
8
2
w


L
w
d) 9 w d$
$
y
Ghosh - 550 Page 5 2/1/2014
where%
$
9

-all shear stress
9 Bensity of fluid
8 9 >ree strea" velo#ity
and% 9 3o"entu" thi#/ness of the boundary layer
9
dy
8
u
1
8
u
0

,
_

#he abo"e equation is applicable only when the pressure gradient term is $ero >or
the #ase of non%$ero pressure gradients you should use
( )
d$
d8
8 8
d$
d
C 2 w
+

&elocity 'rofiles
2in#e the 4ar"an-Pohlhausen "ethod requires an assumed "elocity profile% let us
e$plore so"e velo#ity profiles and their #hara#teristi#s (see e$a"ple proble" 1* >or
e$a"ple% suppose we assu"e the velo#ity profile to be a se#ond order polyno"ial
2
&y +y ) * y ( u + + where )% +% and & are #onstants
,o evaluate velo#ity profile #onstants )% +% and &% we "ust use boundary #onditions ,he
following three #onditions "ay be used'
1* No-slip' y 9 0% u 9 0
2* +7 0dge Delo#ity' y 9 % u 9 8
6* +7 0dge 2hear' y 9 %
dy
du
9 0
Note that at the edge of the defined edge of the boundary layer u 9 ::8 and
0
dy
du

.owever we appro$i"ate the" with the rounded values ,his is the reason the solution
"ethod by 3o"entu" 5ntegral 3ethod is #onsidered an appro$i"ate one
-ith the above profile%
1* 0 9 0 ) * 0 ( & * 0 ( + )
2
+ +
2* 8 9
+

+ + & +
8
* ( & * ( + )
2
E 0 A F
6*
0 & 2 +
dy
du
y
+

2ubtra#ting the se#ond #ondition fro" the third%
2
8
&
8
&

Ghosh - 550 Page ; 2/1/2014
8sing this in the se#ond #ondition%

8 2
+
8
+
8
2
2
y
8
y
8 2
* y ( u

or%
2
y y
2 * y (
8
u

,
_

,
_

Paraboli# Profile (see plot in the

e$a"ple*
!e"e"ber the use of the boundary layer velo#ity profile is only "eaningful when
y 0
,he use of this velo#ity profile "ay now be "ade to obtain and
w

,
_

,
_

,
_

y
d
8
u
1
8
u
dy
8
u
1
8
u
1
0 0
or%

1
1
]
1

,
_

1
1
]
1

,
_

y
d
y y
2 1
y y
2
2
1
0
2
Note that defining a new variable

y
"a/es the evaluation "u#h easier
( )( ) +

d 2 1 2
2
1
0
2
( )

+ + d 2 2 4 2
1
0
4 6 6 2 2
( )

+ d 4 5 2
1
0
4 6 2
15
2
15
6 15 25 15
5
1
1
6
5
1
+
+
2i"iliarly%
0 y
w
dy
du

E 0 v in boundary layerF
0 0 y
* 8 u ( 8
* y (
* 8 u ( 8

[ ]

8 2
2 2
8
0
for the paraboli# profile
8sing the above results for and
w
in the "o"entu" integral equation for a flat plate
gives
d$
d
15
2
8
8 2
2

,
_

2eparating the variables and $% and integrating

d$
8
15 d
$
0 $
* $ (
0


,
_

Ghosh - 550 Page G 2/1/2014

,
_

8
15
2
2
8
$ 60
2

,o e$press the bo$ed equation in a non-di"ensional for" divide both sides by $
2
%
$
2
!e
60
8$
60
$

,
_

% where !e
$
9

8$
is the !eynolds nu"ber based upon the
variable $
$ $
!e
4H 5
!e
60
$

&o"pare this result with the earlier e$a#t solution obtained under the +lasius "ethod
$
!e
0 5
$

-e therefore see the popularity of the paraboli# velo#ity profile )lthough the solution by
4ar"an-Pohlhausen "ethod is appro$i"ate it gives less than 10I error when #o"pared
with the e$a#t solution is la"inar flows over a flat plate
Now that we have obtained ($*% the shear stress%
w%
and s/in fri#tion #oeffi#ient% &
f
% "ay
be obtained for the paraboli# profile
$
$
w
!e
$
8
6;5
$ 4H 5
!e 8 2 8 2

$
$
2
2
w
f
!e
G6
!e
$
8
8
G6
8
2
1
* $ ( &

,his is #o"parable with
$
f
!e
;;4
* $ ( &
obtained earlier in the e$a#t solution "ethod
,o su""ariAe% we have obtained the growth of the boundary layer ($* and the s/in
fri#tion #hara#teristi# &
f
($* as a solution of the boundary layer equations by the e$a#t and
appro$i"ate "ethods @n#e &
f
($* is /nown% the shear stress and s/in fri#tion for#e "ay
be evaluated (see e$a"ples*
)s stated before% the frictional forces are not the dominant forces in high%speed flows
,he #o"ponent of drag due to s/in fri#tion is #alled the fri#tion drag ,hus fri#tion drag
is signifi#antly lower than pressure drag in boundary layers of high !eynolds nu"ber
flows .owever( 'randtl found a "ery important influence of these small frictional
forces in controlling the pressure drag. ,o understand this we "ust investigate the
pheno"enon of flow separation
Flow Separation and Boundary Layer ontrol
Ghosh - 550 Page H 2/1/2014
0arlier we noted that as the boundary layer over a flat plate grows% the value of the s/in
fri#tion #oeffi#ient goes down ,his "ay be e$plained fro" the fa#t that as "ore fluid
layers are de#elerated due to shear at the plate shear values near the plate need to be as
large #o"pared to the entran#e region of the plate
&o"pare the station (2* ( 9
2
* with station (1* ( 9
1
* ,he shear on the plate at (2* is
s"aller sin#e the shear angle
* 1 ( * 2 (
y
u
y
u

<

3athe"ati#ally% we /now &

f
($* 0 as
!e
$
+ut #an the shear go to Aero on the flat plate% and if so% what are the physi#al
i"pli#ations< ,he answer depends on the physi#al #onfigurations >or a flat plate% shear
"ay never go to Aero as &
f
0 only when !e
$
or $ .owever if we get so"e
assistan#e fro" the pressure gradient% &
f
#an be Aero "u#h earlier &onsider% for this
purpose% flow over a #ir#ular #ylinder
(1* (2*
8
$
y
)
+
&
B
* 2 (
y
u

* 1 (
y
u

8
y
$

2
) &
($*
+
Ghosh - 550 Page : 2/1/2014
,he figure above shows a #ir#ular #ylinder in steady% ideal flow% 8 ,he stagnation points
are ) and &% while the "a$i"u" velo#ity points are + and B 2in#e the regions ) to +
and ) to B a##elerate the flow%
0
d$
dp
<
(note $ is in the tangential dire#tion along the
#ylinder* 2i"iliarly the regions + to & and B to & are the adverse pressure gradient
regions (
0
d$
dp
<
* Now i"agine if this #ylinder was pla#ed in a real flow% vis#ous
boundary layer will start to grow fro" the front stagnation point )% slowing the fluid
parti#les
.owever% fluid pressure field still naturally pushes the parti#les
near the surfa#e to pro#eed toward + ,his is not the #ase
between + and & though% where the natural tenden#y of the fluid is to
flow & to + due to the adverse pressure gradient ,hus the boundary layer slow
down that started in the region ) to + due to vis#ous effe#ts bringing &
f
toward 0% gets
compounded by the )re"erse push* due to the ad"erse pressure gradient in the
region + to &. #his brings the flow to separation. Flow separation point is defined as
the point on the surface where
f
+ ,( or(
w
+ ,( or
0
y
u
0 y

.
)t flow separation% fluid parti#les rest on the solid surfa#e but there is no hold on the"
due to shear fro" the surfa#e #here is howe"er shearing action from the high%speed
flow a little away from the surface( which drags these stagnant particles away into
the main flow stream due to "iscosity. ,his #reates a partial void inside the boundary
layer% whi#h is pro"ptly filled by parti#les traveling upstrea" #reating a =reverse flow?
near the surfa#e
Ghosh - 550 Page 10 2/1/2014
,he figure shows real flow separation over a #ir#ular #ylinder with the separation point
and reverse flow after separation Bue to sy""etry% the e$a#t sa"e pro#esses are
repeated on the lower surfa#e )B&. #he re"erse flow near the surface is the cause of
"ortex formation. ,wo sy""etri# vorti#es appear first in the downstrea" of the #ylinder
following flow separation
$
y
y
$
)
+
B
&
Point of
2tagnation
Dorte$ for"ation
Ghosh - 550 Page 11 2/1/2014
-eal Flow ."er the ylinder
,hese vorti#es o##upy the wa/e region sin#e they are shed behind the #ylinder due to the
forward fluid "otion )s that pro#ess happens the shed vorti#es grow in siAe and start
intera#ting with ea#h other #reating an alternating "ortex pattern /nown as the
/arman &ortex Street ,hese #reate os#illatory flows behind the #ylinder
7a"inar
-a/e
8
2y""etri#
Dorti#es
4ar"an Dorte$ 2treet
Ghosh - 550 Page 12 2/1/2014
0ventually all the vorti#es brea/ down due to vis#ous intera#tions #reating a region of
#haos% whi#h is #hara#teristi# of a turbulent "i$ing
5n the initial phase a laminar separated flow is not necessarily turbulent. 5t #reates a
large region of low pressure behind the body #alled the wake region. Bue to the
separation pro#ess% the pressure never re#overs its stagnation value in la"inar separated
flows 5f instead of a la"inar follow% we had pla#ed the #ylinder in a turbulent flow%
separation will o##ur with a much narrower wake behind the body ,his is due to the
fa#t that turbulent flows have flatter "elocity profiles with rapid mixing and a lot more
momentum in the boundary layer #his gi"es turbulent flows much better chance to
resist separation in the region behind the body (+ to & or% B to &* ,he late separation
gives a "u#h s"aller wa/e siAe with a "u#h better pressure re#overy as shown in the
figure below'
7a"inar
-a/e
,urbulent
-a/e
)
+
&
B

1
-6
&
p
9 1- 4 sin
2
(5deal flows*
7a"inar >lows
,urbulent >lows
Ghosh - 550 Page 16 2/1/2014
,hus the drag #al#ulated in the turbulent flows will be "u#h s"aller #o"pared to la"inar
flows (!e#all that ideal flow drag is Aero due to 100I pressure re#overy* ,his is the
reason a turbulent flow separation is preferred over a la"inar flow separation (see
e$a"ple of flow "o"entu" #al#ulation* ,he drag #oeffi#ient versus !eynolds nu"ber
for the flow over a sphere is shown below
,he figure shows that drag #oeffi#ient drops as the !eynolds nu"ber in#reases in the low
speed range 0n this range( drag on the sphere is directly proportional to the
Ghosh - 550 Page 14 2/1/2014
diameter of the sphere 1F
2
+ 3&24 as was shown by Stokes. @n the other hand% for
high-speed flows%
B
&
b
)
2
8
2
1
B
> ,hus% if &
B
is #onstant%
2
8
B
> 5n the low
speed range% drag on the sphere is "ostly due to fri#tion% whereas in the high-speed range
drag is "ostly (due to flow separation* fro" the pressure drag. #he sharp drop in the

2
cur"e around -e
2
+ 5x6,
7
is due to the transition from laminar to turbulent
flows. )s we saw earlier% transition into turbulen#e brings s"aller wa/e siAe and a lower
overall drag ,his feature is often in#orporated into design >or e$a"ple% golf balls are
di"pled to ta/e advantage of this fa#t ,he di"ples #ause early tripping of the flow into
turbulen#e ,his would redu#e the drag and will produ#e longer flights of the ball
2rag reduction is an a#tive design topi# for aerodyna"i#ists and fluid "e#hanists )
"aJor #ontrolling feature of la"inar flow separation is by remo"al of stagnant fluid
particles near the walls by suction 2i"ilarly by blowing into boundary layer( we
may be able to energi$e the stagnant particles and pre"ent separation &ontrol of
separation and drag redu#tion in various applied proble"s is an a#tive area of resear#h
#urbulent Boundary Layers
-e /now that turbulent flow o##urs if the flow velo#ity is large enough (or% vis#osity is
s"all enough* to #reate a !eynolds nu"ber greater than the #riti#al !eynolds nu"ber
over an obJe#t >or spheres or #ir#ular #ylinders this #riti#al !eynolds nu"ber is between
2 to 4$10
5
>or flat plate flows this is around 500%000 -e also dis#ussed the i"pli#ations
of turbulent flows in drag redu#tion -hat #hara#teriAes su#h flow is a flatter% fuller
velo#ity profile 5t is i"portant to re#ogniAe that turbulent flows have two #o"ponents'
(i* a "ean% u % and (ii* a rando" one% u u u u + 2i"ilarly% v v v + and
w w w + ,he rando" u #annot be deter"ined without statisti#al "eans ,herefore for
turbulent fluid flows% we usually wor/ with a ti"e averaged "ean flow u !e"e"ber
that when we spea/ of turbulent velo#ity profiles it is this u that we are #onsidering ,o
avoid #onfusion with this rotation (we earlier indi#ated v as area averaged velo#ity% not
ti"e average velo#ity*% we shall write turbulent flow velo#ities without the bars
Kou understand that whenever we spea/ about turbulent flows here% we are representing
the "ean flow ,urbulent flows in boundary layers over flat plates "ay be represented by
the power law velo#ity profile'
n
1
n
1
y
* y (
8
u

,
_

Ewhere%

y
F
,his profile #overs a fairly broad range of turbulent !eynolds nu"bers for ; L n L10 ,he
"ost popular one is n 9 G )lthough this velo#ity profile is an e$#ellent representation of
the real turbulent flow% this "ay not be used to #al#ulate s/in fri#tion #oeffi#ient in the
Ghosh - 550 Page 15 2/1/2014
appro$i"ate solution "ethod seen earlier (sin#e
0 y
y
u

will be negligible for this

profile* >or the purpose of #al#ulating shear stress we use an e$peri"ental result'
4
1
2
w
8
8 0266 0
,
_

for the 1/G power law profile ,o obtain the s/in fri#tion
#oeffi#ient% we "ust first evaluate ($* fro" the solution of 4ar"an-Pohlhausen'
$
8
2
w

()*
dy
8
u
1
8
u
dy
8
u
1
8
u
1
0 0

,
_

,
_

Q
8sing
G
1
8
u
%

,
_

d 1
G
1
1
0
G
1
G2
G
:
G
H
G
d
1
0
G
2
G
1

,
_

* ) (
d$
d
G2
G
8
8
8 0266 0
2
4
1
2
w

,
_

,
_

or% d$
8
24 d
$
0 $
4
1
* $ (
0
4
1

,
_

5 1
$
!e
6H2
$

(2/ipping the integral evaluation*

,er"s for the 1/G power law velo#ity profile gives'
5
1
$
f
!e
05:4
&
Stokes Flows
-e have so far dis#ussed very high-speed flows in whi#h the boundary layers are very
thin regions near the body .owever for very low speed flows boundary layers don1t
e$ist &iscous effects are felt e"erywhere 1recall the heat transfer analogy4. 0$ternal
flow appli#ations at very slow speeds (or% highly vis#ous flows* "ay be solved by
negle#ting the inertia for#e ter" in the 8ewton9s second law. >or e$a"ple% if you drop a
steel ball into gly#erin% how #an you #al#ulate drag on it< 5n this #onte$t% let us introdu#e
the #on#ept of ter"inal velo#ity -hen any obJe#t starts its "otion in any fluid "ediu"%
there "ay be a period of a##eleration of "otion .owever% if we are interested in steady
flows% if one e$ists in su#h #onfigurations( there must be a time when the fluid forces
around the body are balanced pro"iding it a constant "elocity. :e call this "elocity
terminal "elocity of the body >or the ball dropped in gly#erin% the free body diagra"
shows
Ghosh - 550 Page 1; 2/1/2014
Note that the D
t
(,er"inal velo#ity* is not a for#e% and shown on the s/et#h (Just for
referen#e* using dashed lines 2in#e the body is traveling at #onstant speed% the inertia
for#e ter" is Aero ,hus% all e$ternal for#es are balan#ed and in the Newton1s se#ond law
in the y-dire#tion'
0 "a > >
y
y
2
y
+
+
MMMMM1!4
0 > > -
B +

where%
"g -
D g >
+

B D 6 >
t B

;
B
D
6

B 9 Bia"eter% 9 Bensity of gly#erin

g 9 )##eleration due to gravity
-e "ay only use the above equation to #al#ulate the ter"inal velo#ity D
t

0n the abo"e drag representation of Stokes flow( F
2
&
t
. #his beha"ior is in contrast
with high%speed flows( where drag is usually proportional to the square of "elocity.
,er"inal velo#ity #on#ept is si"ilar to fully developed flows in internal flow
#onfiguration Noti#e that before the ter"inal velo#ity is developed (in the internal flow
#ase% in the entran#e length region*% the inertia for#e ter" in the above equation ()* is not
negligible 5n that #ase% the only way to solve the equation will be by integration or% using
differential equations approa#h (see e$a"ple H*
>or engineering design purposes% handboo/s list a large variety of obJe#ts in different
orientations and their drag #oeffi#ients !ather than solving ea#h proble" fro" first
y
w
g
v
D
t
>
+
>
B
>
B
9 Brag on the body
>
+
9 +uoyan#y for#e on the body
w 9 weight of the ball
Ghosh - 550 Page 1G 2/1/2014
prin#iples% you "ay be able to utiliAe these tables and #harts Nust "a/e sure that you note
the range of appli#ability of these ,hey need to be verified during proble" solving
continue