Adverse pressure gradient

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In fluid dynamics, an adverse pressure gradient is a pressure gradient in which the static pressure increases in the direction of the
flow. Mathematically this is expressed as dP/dx > 0 for a flow in the positive x-direction.

This is important for boundary layers. Increasing the fluid pressure is akin to increasing the potential energy of the fluid, leading to a
reduced kinetic energy and a deceleration of the fluid. Since the fluid in the inner part of the boundary layer is slower, it is more greatly
affected by the increasing pressure gradient. For a large enough pressure increase, this fluid may slow to zero velocity or even become
reversed causing a flow separation. This has very significant consequences in aerodynamics since flow separation significantly modifies
the pressure distribution along the surface and hence the lift and drag characteristics.

Turbulent boundary layers tend to be able to sustain an adverse pressure gradient better than an equivalent laminar boundary layer.
The more efficient mixing which occurs in a turbulent boundary layer transports kinetic energy from the edge of the boundary layer to
the low-momentum flow at the solid surface, often preventing the separation that would occur for a laminar boundary layer under the
same conditions. This physical fact has led to a variety of schemes to actually produce turbulent boundary layers when boundary layer
separation is dominant at high Reynolds numbers; the dimples on a golf ball, the fuzz on a tennis ball, or the seams on a baseball are
good examples. Aeroplane wings are often engineered with vortex generators on the upper surface to produce a turbulent boundary
layer.

See also
Flow separation

References
Ernst R. G. Eckert & Robert M. Drake Jr. (1959) Heat and Mass Transfer, McGraw-Hill.
Hermann Schlichting (1960) Boundary Layer Theory, McGraw-Hill.

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In fluid dynamics, laminar flow is

characterized by fluid particles following
smooth paths in layers, with each layer
moving smoothly past the adjacent
layers with little or no mixing. At low
velocities, the fluid tends to flow without
lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide
past one another like playing cards.
There are no cross-currents
perpendicular to the direction of flow,
nor eddies or swirls of fluids. In laminar
flow, the motion of the particles of the
fluid is very orderly with particles close
to a solid surface moving in straight
lines parallel to that surface. Laminar
flow is a flow regime characterized by
high momentum diffusion and low
momentum convection.