Session 5: The boundary layer concept

In 1904 a little-known physicist as Ludwig Prandtl revolutionized fluid dynamics with his notion that the
effects of friction are experienced only very near an object moving through a fluid.

He theorized that an effect of friction was to cause the fluid immediately adjacent to the surface to stick to
the surface. In other words, he assumed the no-slip condition at the surface and the frictional effects were
experienced only in a boundary layer, a thin region near the surface. Outside the boundary layer the flow
was essentially the inviscid flow that had been studied for the previous two centuries

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The concept of boundary layer is sketched in figure below. An incompressible fluid flow is assumed that is
passing over a smooth flat plate with zero pressure gradients.

It can be seen that a free stream with velocity U0 decides to pass over the flat plate. At the first point of
contact of the fluid with the flat plate, the velocity of the fluid becomes zero due to the no-slip condition.
Therefore, a velocity gradient occurs in the velocity field of free stream. As the flow moves more along the
flat plate, the viscosity effect begins to increase in the form of a velocity gradient. During the initial length
of the flat plate, the flow layers slide together regularly to form a layered flow. This region of flow is called
laminar flow. The laminar flow is not a stable flow and therefore becomes turbulent flow along the way.
The turbulent flow contains 4 different sublayers as viscous sublayer, buffer layer, overlap layer and
turbulent layer. But this flow regime conversion does not happen immediately. It happens via a transition
region.

To determine different regions (regimes) through the flow, the Reynolds number must be used as

𝜌𝑈0 𝑥
𝑅𝑒 =
𝜇

Where,

ρ and μ are density and viscosity as fluid properties. U0 is free stream (characteristic) velocity. x is
characteristic length. At the end of laminar region, characteristic length is xcr.

The thickness of boundary layer through the viscous region is called as boundary layer thickness, δ, that is
a variable parameter and depends to the location, x.