9/3/2017 BOUNDARY LAYER

Heat & Mass Transfer, and Fluids Engineering

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BOUNDARY LAYER
Epifanov, V. M.
DOI: 10.1615/AtoZ.b.boundary_layer

A boundary layer is a thin layer of viscous uid close to the solid surface of a wall in contact with a moving st
which (within its thickness ) the ow velocity varies from zero at the wall (where the ow sticks to the wall
of its viscosity) up to Ue at the boundary, which approximately (within 1% error) corresponds to the free

velocity (see Figure 1). Strictly speaking, the value of is an arbitrary value because the friction force, depen
the molecular interaction between uid and the solid body, decreases with the distance from the wall and b
equal to zero at innity.

Figure 1. Growth of a boundary layer on a at plate.

The fundamental concept of the boundary layer was suggested by L. Prandtl (1904), it denes the boundary la
layer of uid developing in ows with very high Reynolds Numbers Re, that is with relatively low visco
compared with inertia forces. This is observed when bodies are exposed to high velocity air stream or when bo
very large and the air stream velocity is moderate. In this case, in a relatively thin boundary layer, friction
(viscous shearing force): = [u/y] (where is the dynamic viscosity; u = u(y) prole of the boundar
longitudinal velocity component, see Figure 1) may be very large; in particular, at the wall where u = 0 and

y]w although the viscosity itself may be rather small.

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