Blasius boundary layer

A schematic diagram of the Blasius flow profile. The streamwise velocity component ${\displaystyle u(\eta )/U(x)}$ is shown, as a function of the similarity variable ${\displaystyle \eta }$.

Using scaling arguments, Ludwig Prandtl[1] has argued that about half of the terms in the Navier-Stokes equations are negligible in boundary layer flows (except in a small region near the leading edge of the plate). This leads to a reduced set of equations known as the boundary layer equations. For steady incompressible flow with constant viscosity and density, these read:

Continuity: ${\displaystyle {\dfrac {\partial u}{\partial x}}+{\dfrac {\partial v}{\partial y}}=0}$

${\displaystyle x}$-Momentum: ${\displaystyle u{\dfrac {\partial u}{\partial x}}+v{\dfrac {\partial u}{\partial y}}=-{\dfrac {1}{\rho }}{\dfrac {\partial p}{\partial x}}+{\nu }{\dfrac {\partial ^{2}u}{\partial y^{2}}}}$

${\displaystyle y}$-Momentum: ${\displaystyle {\dfrac {\partial p}{\partial y}}=0}$

Here the coordinate system is chosen with ${\displaystyle x}$ pointing parallel to the plate in the direction of the flow and the ${\displaystyle y}$ coordinate pointing towards the free stream, ${\displaystyle u}$ and ${\displaystyle v}$ are the ${\displaystyle x}$ and ${\displaystyle y}$ velocity components, ${\displaystyle p}$ is the pressure, ${\displaystyle \rho }$ is the density and ${\displaystyle \nu }$ is the kinematic viscosity.

The ${\displaystyle y}$-momentum equation implies that the pressure in the boundary layer must be equal to that of the free stream for any given ${\displaystyle x}$ coordinate. Because the velocity profile is uniform in the free stream, there is no vorticity involved, therefore a simple Bernoulli's equation can be applied in this high Reynolds number limit ${\displaystyle {\dfrac {p}{\rho }}+{\dfrac {U^{2}}{2}}=}$ constant or, after differentiation: ${\displaystyle {\dfrac {1}{\rho }}{\dfrac {dp}{dx}}=-U{\dfrac {dU}{dx}}}$ Here ${\displaystyle U(x)}$ is the velocity of the fluid outside the boundary layer and is solution of Euler equations (fluid dynamics).

Von Kármán Momentum integral and the energy integral for Blasius profile reduce to

${\displaystyle {\frac {\tau _{w}}{\rho U^{2}}}={\frac {\partial \delta _{2}}{\partial x}}+{\frac {v_{w}}{U}}}$

${\displaystyle {\frac {2\varepsilon }{\rho U^{3}}}={\frac {\partial \delta _{3}}{\partial x}}+{\frac {v_{w}}{U}}}$

where ${\displaystyle \tau _{w}}$ is the wall shear stress, ${\displaystyle v_{w}}$ is the wall injection/suction velocity, ${\displaystyle \varepsilon }$ is the energy dissipation rate, ${\displaystyle \delta _{2}}$ is the momentum thickness and ${\displaystyle \delta _{3}}$ is the energy thickness.

A number of similarity solutions to this equation have been found for various types of flow, including flat plate boundary layers. The term similarity refers to the property that the velocity profiles at different positions in the flow are the same apart from a scaling factor. These solutions are often presented in the form of non-linear ordinary differential equations.

Blasius[2] proposed a similarity solution for the case in which the free stream velocity is constant, ${\displaystyle U(x)=U={\text{constant}},dU/dx=0}$, which corresponds to the boundary layer over a flat plate that is oriented parallel to the free flow. Self-similar solution exists because the equations and the boundary conditions are invariant under the transformation

${\displaystyle x\rightarrow c^{2}x,\quad y\rightarrow cy,\quad u\rightarrow u,\quad v\rightarrow {\frac {v}{c}}}$

where ${\displaystyle c}$ is any positive constant. He introduced the self-similar variables

Developing Blasius boundary layer (not to scale). The velocity profile ${\displaystyle f'}$ is shown in red at selected positions along the plate. The blue lines represent, in top to bottom order, the 99% free stream velocity line (${\displaystyle \delta _{99\%},\eta \approx 3.5}$), the displacement thickness (${\displaystyle \delta _{*},\eta \approx 1.21}$) and ${\displaystyle \delta (x)}$ (${\displaystyle \eta =1}$). See Boundary layer thickness for a more detailed explanation.

${\displaystyle \eta ={\dfrac {y}{\delta (x)}}=y{\sqrt {\dfrac {U}{\nu x}}},\quad \psi ={\sqrt {\nu Ux}}f(\eta )}$

where ${\displaystyle \delta (x)\propto {\sqrt {\nu x/U}}}$ is the boundary layer thickness and ${\displaystyle \psi }$ is the stream function, in which the newly introduced normalized stream function, ${\displaystyle f(\eta )}$, is only a function of the similarity variable. This leads directly to the velocity components

${\displaystyle u(x,y)={\dfrac {\partial \psi }{\partial y}}=Uf'(\eta ),\quad v(x,y)=-{\dfrac {\partial \psi }{\partial x}}={\frac {1}{2}}{\sqrt {\dfrac {\nu U}{x}}}[\eta f'(\eta )-f(\eta )]}$

Where the prime denotes derivation with respect to ${\displaystyle \eta }$. Substitution into the momentum equation gives the Blasius equation

${\displaystyle 2f'''+f''f=0}$

The boundary conditions are the no-slip condition, the impermeability of the wall and the free stream velocity outside the boundary layer

${\displaystyle u(x,0)=0\rightarrow f'(0)=0}$

${\displaystyle v(x,0)=0\rightarrow f(0)=0}$

${\displaystyle u(x,\infty )=U\rightarrow f'(\infty )=1}$

This is a third order non-linear ordinary differential equation which can be solved numerically, e.g. with the shooting method.

The limiting form for small ${\displaystyle \eta <<1}$ is

${\displaystyle f(\eta )={\frac {1}{2}}\alpha \eta ^{2}+O(\eta ^{5}),\qquad \alpha =0.332057336215196}$

and the limiting form for large ${\displaystyle \eta >>1}$ is

${\displaystyle f(\eta )=\eta -\beta +O\left((\eta -\beta )^{-2}e^{-{\frac {1}{2}}(\eta -\beta )^{2}}\right),\qquad \beta =-1.7207876575205}$[3]

The appropriate parameters to compare with the experimental observations are displacement thickness ${\displaystyle \delta ^{*}}$, momentum thickness ${\displaystyle \theta }$ wall shear stress ${\displaystyle \tau _{w}}$ and drag force ${\displaystyle F}$ acting on a length ${\displaystyle l}$ of the plate, which are given for the Blasius profile

${\displaystyle \delta ^{*}=\int _{0}^{\infty }\left(1-{\frac {u}{U}}\right)dy=1.72{\sqrt {\frac {\nu x}{U}}}}$

${\displaystyle \theta =\int _{0}^{\infty }{\frac {u}{U}}\left(1-{\frac {u}{U}}\right)dy=0.665{\sqrt {\frac {\nu x}{U}}}}$

${\displaystyle \tau _{w}=\mu \left({\frac {\partial u}{\partial y}}\right)_{y=0}=0.332{\sqrt {\frac {\rho \mu U^{3}}{x}}}}$

${\displaystyle F=2\int _{0}^{l}\tau _{w}dx=1.328{\sqrt {\rho \mu lU^{3}}}}$

The factor ${\displaystyle 2}$ in the drag force formula is to account both sides of the plate.

Suction is one of the common methods to postpone the boundary layer separation.[6] Consider a uniform suction velocity at the wall ${\displaystyle v(0)=-V}$. Bryan Thwaites[7] showed that the solution for this problem is same as the Blasius solution without suction for distances very close to the leading edge. Introducing the transformation

${\displaystyle \psi ={\sqrt {2U\nu x}}f(\xi ,\eta ),\quad \xi =V{\sqrt {\frac {x}{2U\nu }}},\quad \eta ={\sqrt {\frac {U}{2\nu x}}}y}$

into the boundary layer equations leads to

${\displaystyle u=U{\frac {\partial f}{\partial \eta }},\quad v=-{\sqrt {\frac {U\nu }{2x}}}\left(f+\xi {\frac {\partial f}{\partial \xi }}-\eta {\frac {\partial f}{\partial \eta }}\right),}$

${\displaystyle {\frac {\partial ^{3}f}{\partial \eta ^{3}}}+f{\frac {\partial ^{2}f}{\partial \eta ^{2}}}+\xi \left({\frac {\partial f}{\partial \xi }}{\frac {\partial ^{2}f}{\partial \eta ^{2}}}-{\frac {\partial ^{2}f}{\partial \xi \partial \eta }}{\frac {\partial f}{\partial \eta }}\right)=0}$

with boundary conditions,

${\displaystyle f(\xi ,0)=\xi ,\quad {\frac {\partial f}{\partial \eta }}(\xi ,0)=0,\quad {\frac {\partial f}{\partial \eta }}(\xi ,\infty )=0.}$

Here Blasius boundary layer with a specified specific enthalpy ${\displaystyle h}$ at the wall is studied. The density ${\displaystyle \rho }$, viscosity ${\displaystyle \mu }$ and thermal conductivity ${\displaystyle \kappa }$ are no longer constant here. The equation for conservation of mass, momentum and energy become

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\frac {\partial (\rho u)}{\partial x}}+{\frac {\partial (\rho v)}{\partial y}}&=0,\\\rho \left(u{\frac {\partial u}{\partial x}}+v{\frac {\partial u}{\partial y}}\right)&={\frac {\partial }{\partial y}}\left(\mu {\frac {\partial u}{\partial y}}\right),\\\rho \left(u{\frac {\partial h}{\partial x}}+v{\frac {\partial h}{\partial y}}\right)&={\frac {\partial }{\partial y}}\left({\frac {\mu }{Pr}}{\frac {\partial h}{\partial y}}\right)+\mu \left({\frac {\partial u}{\partial y}}\right)^{2}\end{aligned}}}$

where ${\displaystyle Pr=c_{p_{\infty }}\mu _{\infty }/\kappa _{\infty }}$ is the Prandtl number with suffix ${\displaystyle \infty }$ representing properties evaluated at infinity. The boundary conditions become

${\displaystyle u=v=h-h_{w}(x)=0\ {\text{for}}\ y=0}$,

${\displaystyle u-U=h-h_{\infty }=0\ {\text{for}}\ y=\infty \ {\text{or}}\ x=0}$.

Unlike the incompressible boundary layer, similarity solution exists only if the transformation

${\displaystyle x\rightarrow c^{2}x,\quad y\rightarrow cy,\quad u\rightarrow u,\quad v\rightarrow {\frac {v}{c}},\quad h\rightarrow h,\quad \rho \rightarrow \rho ,\quad \mu \rightarrow \mu }$

holds and this is possible only if ${\displaystyle h_{w}={\text{constant}}}$.

Howarth transformation

Compressible Blasius boundary layer

Introducing the self-similar variables using Howarth–Dorodnitsyn transformation

${\displaystyle \eta ={\sqrt {\frac {U}{2\nu _{\infty }x}}}\int _{0}^{y}{\frac {\rho }{\rho _{\infty }}}dy,\quad f(\eta )={\frac {\psi }{\sqrt {2\nu _{\infty }Ux}}},\quad {\tilde {h}}(\eta )={\frac {h}{h_{\infty }}},\quad {\tilde {h}}_{w}={\frac {h_{w}}{h_{\infty }}},\quad {\tilde {\rho }}={\frac {\rho }{\rho _{\infty }}},\quad {\tilde {\mu }}={\frac {\mu }{\mu _{\infty }}}}$

the equations reduce to

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}2({\tilde {\rho }}{\tilde {\mu }}f'')'+ff''=0,\\({\tilde {\rho }}{\tilde {\mu }}{\tilde {h}}')'+Prf{\tilde {h}}'+Pr(\gamma -1)M^{2}{\tilde {\rho }}{\tilde {\mu }}f''^{2}=0\end{aligned}}}$

where ${\displaystyle \gamma }$ is the specific heat ratio and ${\displaystyle M=U/c_{\infty }}$ is the Mach number, where ${\displaystyle c_{\infty }}$ is the speed of sound. The equation can be solved once ${\displaystyle {\tilde {\rho }}={\tilde {\rho }}({\tilde {h}}),\ {\tilde {\mu }}={\tilde {\mu }}({\tilde {h}})}$ are specified. The boundary conditions are

${\displaystyle f(0)=f'(0)=\theta (0)-{\tilde {h}}_{w}=f'(\infty )-1={\tilde {h}}(\infty )-1=0.}$

The commonly used expressions for air are ${\displaystyle \gamma =1.4,\ Pr=0.7,\ {\tilde {\rho }}={\tilde {h}}^{-1},\ {\tilde {\mu }}={\tilde {h}}^{2/3}}$. If ${\displaystyle c_{p}}$ is constant, then ${\displaystyle {\tilde {h}}={\tilde {\theta }}=T/T_{\infty }}$. The temperature inside the boundary layer will increase even though the plate temperature is maintained at the same temperature as ambient, due to dissipative heating and of course, these dissipation effects are only pronounced when the Mach number ${\displaystyle M}$ is large.

Since the boundary layer equations are Parabolic partial differential equation, the natural coordinates for the problem is parabolic coordinates.[4]^:142 The transformation from Cartesian coordinates ${\displaystyle (x,y)}$ to parabolic coordinates ${\displaystyle (\xi ,\eta )}$ is given by

${\displaystyle x+iy={\frac {1}{2}}(\xi +i\eta )^{2},\quad x={\frac {1}{2}}(\xi ^{2}-\eta ^{2}),\quad y=\xi \eta }$.

• Falkner–Skan boundary layer
• Emmons problem

• - English translation of Blasius' original paper - NACA Technical Memorandum 1256.

• Parlange, J. Y.; Braddock, R. D.; Sander, G. (1981). "Analytical approximations to the solution of the Blasius equation". Acta Mech. 38 (1–2): 119–125. Bibcode:1981AcMec..38..119P. doi:10.1007/BF01351467.
• Pozrikidis, C. (1998). Introduction to Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics. Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-509320-9.
• Schlichting, H. (2004). Boundary-Layer Theory. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-66270-9.
• Wilcox, David C. Basic Fluid Mechanics DCW Industries Inc. 2007
• Boyd, John P. (1999), "The Blasius function in the complex plane", Experimental Mathematics, 8 (4): 381–394, doi:10.1080/10586458.1999.10504626, ISSN 1058-6458, MR 1737233