CHAPTER 4

LAMINAR BOUNDARY LAYER

Analysis for laminar boundary layer on thin flat plate can be conducted by using the Von Karman
equation and / or Blasius exact solution.

In thin flat plate, there are no pressure gradient in the boundary layer. Because of that, there can be
no separation.

Flow separation or boundary layer separation is the detachment of a boundary layer from a surface
into a wake. Separation occurs in flow that is slowing down, with pressure increasing, after passing
the thickest part of a streamline body or passing through a widening passage.

Flow separation occurs when there is a change of velocity or pressure. That is the reason why there
is no flow separation occurs on the thin flat plate.
An image to show the separation that occur on the cylinder surface.
From the previous chapter, we know that the maximum velocity for flow around a cylinder is at 90°
!
or at 𝜃 = . The distribution of velocity and pressure for the upper flow of the cylinder can be
"
shown as follows.
Figure 7.7 illustrates the general case. In a favourable gradient (Fig. 7.7a) the profile is very rounded,
there is no point of inflection, there can be no separation, and laminar profiles of this type are very
resistant to a transition to turbulence.

In a zero-pressure gradient (Fig. 7.7b), such as a flat-plate flow, the point of inflection is at the wall
itself. There can be no separation, and the flow will undergo transition at Re number greater than
about 3 × 106.
In an adverse gradient (Fig. 7.7c to 7.7e), a point of inflection (PI) occurs in the boundary layer, its
distance from the wall increasing with the strength of the adverse gradient. For a weak gradient (Fig.
7.7c) the flow does not actually separate, but it is vulnerable to transition to turbulence at Re
number as low as 105.
At a moderate gradient, a critical condition (Fig. 7.7d) is reached where the wall shear is exactly
#$
zero _ = 0 `. This is defined as the separation point (𝜏&'(( = 0 ), because any stronger gradient
#%
will actually cause backflow at the wall (Fig. 7.7e): the boundary layer thickens greatly, and the main
flow breaks away, or separates, from the wall (Fig. 7.2b).

The flow profiles of Fig. 7.7 usually occur in sequence as the boundary layer progresses along the
wall of a body. For example, in Fig. 7.2a, a favourable gradient occurs on the front of the body, zero
pressure gradient occurs just upstream of the shoulder, and an adverse gradient occurs successively
as we move around the rear of the body.
A second practical example is the flow in a duct consisting of a nozzle, throat, and diffuser, as in Fig.
7.8. The nozzle flow is a favourable gradient and never separates, nor does the throat flow where
the pressure gradient is approximately zero.

But the expanding-area diffuser produces low velocity and increasing pressure, an adverse gradient.
If the diffuser angle is too large, the adverse gradient is excessive, and the boundary layer will
separate at one or both walls, with backflow, increased losses, and poor pressure recovery.

In the diffuser literature this condition is called diffuser stall, a term used also in airfoil
aerodynamics to denote airfoil boundary layer separation. Thus, the boundary layer behaviour
explains why a large-angle diffuser has heavy flow losses and poor performance.

Presently boundary layer theory can compute only up to the separation point, after which it is
invalid. Techniques are now developed for analysing the strong interaction effects caused by
separated flows.
THE CORRELATION METHOD OF THWAITES

Von Karman solution can be used for laminar and turbulent boundary layer.
However, Blasius solution only can be used for laminar boundary layer.
Von Karman and Blasius used for flat plat problem or situation that does not have pressure gradient
(separation will not occur).

For curved surface (sphere or circular surface), there is a pressure gradient and flow separation
have probability to occur. In this case, Thwaites equation is proposed to be used. At the same time,
Thwaites equation could predict the separation point.

From Von Karman integral method:

𝑑𝜃 1
𝜏& = 𝜌𝑈 " = 𝑐) ∙ 𝜌𝑈 "
𝑑𝑥 2
Thwaites proposed this correlation:
𝜏& 1 𝑑𝜃 𝜃 𝑑𝑈
= 𝑐) ∙ = (
+ 2+𝐻 ) Eq.(1)
𝜌𝑈 " 2 𝑑𝑥 𝑈 𝑑𝑥

Where,

𝜃 (𝑥) = 𝜃 = Momentum thickness

𝛿 ∗ (𝑥 )
𝐻 (𝑥 ) = 𝐻 = = Shape factor
𝜃 (𝑥 )

𝑑𝑈 𝑑𝑝
− =+ = Adverse gradient
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥

The higher the 𝐻 , the stronger the adverse gradient, and separation occurs approximately at:

𝐻 ≈ 3.5 for laminar flow

𝐻 ≈ 2.4 for turbulent flow

For laminar flow, a simple and effective method was developed by Thwaites, who found that Eq.(1)
can be correlated by a single dimensionless momentum thickness variable 𝜆 , defined as:

𝜃 " 𝑑𝑈
𝜆=
𝜐 𝑑𝑥

Using a straight-line fit to his correlation, Thwaites was able to integrate Eq.(1) in closed form, with
the result:
,
𝑈+ 0.45𝜐 . -
𝜃" = 𝜃+" v w + x 𝑈 𝑑𝑥
𝑈 𝑈, +

Where:
𝜃+ = Momentum thickness at 𝑥 = 0

𝜐 = kinematic viscosity

Separation was found to occur at a particular value of 𝜆 :

𝜆 = −0.09
Finally, Thwaites correlated values of the dimensionless shear stress, 𝑆 with 𝜆 , and his graphed
result can be curve-fitted as follows:

𝜏&
𝑆(𝜆) = ≈ (𝜆 + 0.09)+.,"
𝜇𝑈

This parameter is related to the skin friction by the identity.

1
𝑆 ≈ 𝐶) ∙ 𝑅𝑒0
2

For a flat plate, 𝑈 = constant, 𝜆 = 0, 𝜃+ = 0

0.45𝜐𝑥
𝜃" =
𝑈

Or

𝜃 0.671
=
𝑥 √𝑅𝑒
Thwaites equation:

$
!
0.45𝜐 #
𝜃 = ) 𝑈 ∙ 𝑑𝑥
𝑈" %

!
𝜃 𝑑𝑈
𝜆=
𝜐 𝑑𝑥
EXAMPLE

The example of velocity profile for a laminar boundary layer on a curved surface is given as:
Let say:

𝑈 (𝑥 ) = 𝑈 = 1 − 𝑥 "

𝑈 - = 1 − 5𝑥 " + 10𝑥 1 − 10𝑥 , + 5𝑥 2 − 𝑥 3+

From Thwaites equation:

.
0.45𝜐
𝜃" = ,
x 𝑈 - 𝑑𝑥
𝑈 +

𝜃 " 𝑑𝑈
𝜆=
𝜐 𝑑𝑥
Solve the momentum thickness :
. .
0.45𝜐 0.45𝜐
𝜃" = ,
x 𝑈 - 𝑑𝑥 = ,
x (1 − 5𝑥 " + 10𝑥 1 − 10𝑥 , + 5𝑥 2 − 𝑥 3+ )𝑑𝑥
𝑈 + 𝑈 +

"
0.45𝜐 5 4 -
10 5 5 6 𝑥 33
𝜃 = •𝑥 − 𝑥 + 2𝑥 − 𝑥 + 𝑥 − ‚
𝑈, 3 7 9 11

Assume that :
5 4 -
10 5 5 6 𝑥 33
𝐴 = •𝑥 − 𝑥 + 2𝑥 − 𝑥 + 𝑥 − ‚
3 7 9 11

0.45𝜐 5 10 5 𝑥 33 0.45𝜐𝐴
𝜃" = •𝑥 − 𝑥 4 + 2𝑥 - −
𝑥 5 + 𝑥6 −
‚ 𝜃 " =
𝑈, 3 7 9 11 𝑈,
Solve the lamda :

𝜃 " 𝑑𝑈 0.45𝜐𝐴 𝑑𝑈 0.45𝜐𝐴 𝑑 "

0.45𝜐𝐴(−2𝑥 ) −0.9𝑥𝐴
𝜆= = ∙ = ∙ (1 − 𝑥 ) = =
𝜐 𝑑𝑥 𝑈 , 𝜐 𝑑𝑥 𝑈 , 𝜐 𝑑𝑥 𝑈,𝜐 𝑈,

We know that separation occur at :

𝜆 = −0.09

Then, we could calculate the value of 𝑥 .

Substitute the value of 𝐴 :

33
−0.9𝑥 5 4 10 5 𝑥
𝜆= ,
•𝑥 − 𝑥 + 2𝑥 - − 𝑥 5 + 𝑥 6 − ‚
𝑈 3 7 9 11

It can be simplified as :

3"
−0.9 5 10 5 𝑥
𝜆= •𝑥 " − 𝑥 1 + 2𝑥 , − 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 3+ − ‚
(1 − 𝑥 )
" , 3 7 9 11

𝜆 = −0.09 at 𝑥 = 0.268
We solve this by using excel :
A THWAITES METHOD FOR AXISYMMETRIC FLOW

A flow pattern is said to be axisymmetric when it is identical in every plane that passes through a
certain straight-line. The straight-line in question is referred to as the symmetry axis.
Thwaites equation for axisymmetric flow becomes like this :
It is also known as Rott-Crabtree method.

$
!
0.45𝜐 ! #
𝜃 = ! " ) 𝑟% 𝑈 𝑑𝑥
𝑟% 𝑈 %

!
𝜃 𝑑𝑈
𝜆=
𝜐 𝑑𝑥
EXAMPLE

For potential freestream flow past a sphere, the velocity distribution is given as :

𝑥
𝑈 = 1.5𝑈+ sin _ `
𝑎
𝑥
𝑟+ = 𝑎 sin _ `
𝑎

𝑎 = Sphere radius

𝑥 = Stagnation point

𝑈+ = Inlet velocity of stream

 𝑑𝑈 𝑑 𝑑 𝑥 1.5𝑈+ 𝑥
= (𝑈) = _1.5𝑈+ sin _ `` = cos _ `
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎

0.45𝜐 . " -
𝜃" = " , x 𝑟+ 𝑈 𝑑𝑥
𝑟+ 𝑈 +

𝜐 = Kinematic viscosity of the flowing fluid

𝜃 " 0.45 . " - 0.45 .

𝑥 " 𝑥 -
= " , x 𝑟+ 𝑈 𝑑𝑥 = , x _𝑎 sin _𝑎 `` _1.5𝑈+ sin _𝑎 `` 𝑑𝑥
𝜐 𝑟+ 𝑈 + 𝑥 " 𝑥
_𝑎 sin _ `` _1.5𝑈+ sin _ `` +
𝑎 𝑎

.
𝜃" 0.45 𝑥 5
= x sin _ ` 𝑑𝑥
𝜐 𝑥 2 + 𝑎
1.5𝑈+ sin _ `
𝑎
Determine the lamda :
𝑑𝑈 1.5𝑈+ 𝑥
= ∙ cos _ `
𝑑𝑥 𝑎 𝑎
.
𝜃 " 𝑑𝑈 0.45 𝑥 5 1.5𝑈+ 𝑥
𝜆= = x sin _ ` 𝑑𝑥 × ∙ cos _ `
𝜐 𝑑𝑥 𝑥 2 + 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎
1.5𝑈+ sin _ `
𝑎

𝑥
0.45 cos _ ` . 𝑥 5
𝜆= 𝑎 x sin _ ` 𝑑𝑥
𝑥 2 + 𝑎
𝑎 sin _ `
𝑎

𝑥
0.13 cos _ ` 𝑥 𝑥 , 𝑥 1 𝑥 "
𝜆= 𝑎 †‡cos _ `ˆ ‰5 _cos _ `` − 21 _cos _ `` + 35 _cos _ `` − 35Š + 16‹
𝑥 2 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎
sin _ `
𝑎
.
Assume =𝑋
'

0.13 cos(𝑋)
𝜆= {[cos(𝑋)][5(cos(𝑋)), − 21(cos(𝑋))1 + 35(cos(𝑋 ))" − 35] + 16}
sin(𝑋 )2
Make a graph
THE PLANE LAMINAR WAKE
FAR-FIELD APPROXIMATION

A wake is the defect is stream velocity behind an immersed body in a flow, a shown below. A slender
plane body with zero lift, such as the airfoil parallel to the stream, usually produces a smooth wake
whose velocity defect 𝑢3 decays monotonically downstream.
Drag force can be written as:

1
𝐹7 = 𝐶7 ∙ 𝜌𝐴𝑈 "
2

The wake velocity may be written as:

𝑢3 𝑅𝑒8 3/" 𝐿 3/" 𝑈+ 𝑦 "

= 𝐶7 v w v w exp •− ‚
𝑈+ 16𝜋 𝑥 4𝑥𝜐

𝑢3 = Defect velocity
𝑈+ = Free stream velocity
𝜐 = Kinematic viscosity of fluid
4-18
Air at 20°C and 1 atm flows at 1 m/s past a slender two-dimensional body, of length L=30cm, whose
drag coefficient is 0.05 based on “plan” area 𝑏𝐿 . Assuming laminar flow at a point 3 m downstream
of the trailing edge, estimate:
(a) The maximum wake velocity defect
(b) The “one-percent” wake thickness
(c) The wake thickness Reynolds number

At 20°C: 𝜌 = 1.205 kg/m4 , 𝜇 = 1.81 × 10:- kg/m ∙ s

(a) Body length Re number, 𝑅𝑒8

𝜌𝑢𝐿
𝑅𝑒8 = = 20,000
𝜇

For 𝑥 = 3 m, the centerline wake defect velocity is computed by applying Eq (4-112), at 𝑦 = 0

3; 3;
𝑢3 𝑅𝑒8 " 𝐿 " 𝑈+ 𝑦 "
= 𝐶7 v w v w exp •− ‚ = 0.315
𝑈+ 16𝜋 𝑥 4𝑥𝜐

𝑢3 = (1)(0.315)
𝑢3 (𝑦 = 0) = 0.315 m/s = ∆𝑢<'.
(b) Wake half-thickness could be defined as the point where the defect velocity drops to 1% of its
maximum velocity.

From Gaussian profile:

𝑈𝑦 #
exp $− + = 0.01
4𝜐𝑥
ln(0.01) 4𝜐𝑥 ln(0.01) 4𝑥𝜇
−(𝑦)#$% = =
𝑈 𝑈𝜌
(𝑦)$% = 0.0288 (m)

(𝑦)$%
wake "half − thickness" =
2
= 0.0144 (m)
width, 𝑏 = 2(𝑦)$% = 0.0288 (m)

(c) Wake Reynolds number

𝜌∆𝑢&'( 𝑏
𝑅𝑒 = = 604
𝜇
THE PLANE LAMINAR WAKE
AXISYMMETRIC WAKES

The wake defect velocity can be estimated by:

𝑢3 𝑈+ 𝐿 𝐿 𝑈+ 𝑟 "
= 𝐶7 v w v w exp •− ‚
𝑈+ 8𝜋𝜐 𝑥 4𝑥𝜐
4-41
Air at 20°C and 1 atm flows at 1m/s past a slender body of revolution, of length L=15cm, whose
drag coefficient is 0.008 based on area (L2). Assuming laminar flow at point 3m downstream of the
trailing edge, estimate:
(a) The maximum wake velocity defect
(b) The one percent wake thickness
(c) The wake thickness Reynolds number

𝜌 = 1.205 kg/m4
𝜇 = 1.81 × 10:- kg/ms
𝜐 = 1.5 × 10:- m" /s

(a) Eq (4-211)

𝑢$ 𝑈* 𝐿 𝐿 𝑈* 𝑟 #
= 𝐶+ M P M P exp $− +
𝑈* 8𝜋𝜐 𝑥 4𝑥𝜐

𝑢$ = 𝑚𝑎𝑥 apabila 𝑒𝑥𝑝 = 1

𝐶+ 𝑈* # 𝐿#
𝑢&'( = = 15.9 cm/s
8𝜋𝜐𝑥
(b) 1% thickness occur when the Gaussian profile in Eq 4-210 equal 0.01

𝑈* 𝑟 #
exp $− + = 0.01
4𝑥𝜐

𝑟 = (𝑟)$% = 0.0288 (m)

Wake thickness

𝑏 = 2(𝑟)$% = 5.76 (cm)

(c)

𝑢&'( 𝑏
𝑅𝑒 = = 610
𝜐