Breakdown of boundary layers: (i) on moving surfaces; (ii) in semi-similar unsteady flow; (iii) in fully unsteady flow

Abstract The breakdown and separation or reattachment of boundary layers adjoining a mainstream are studied in the three related situations (i)-(iii) of the title. For (i) the classical steady boundary layer generally admits a logarithmic singularity in the displacement when breakdown occurs on a downstream-moving surface whereas the corresponding singularity for an upstream-moving surface can be logarithmic or of minus-one-sixth form. Conversely, the breakdown can be delayed to the onset of zero mainstream flow, in which case the displacement singularity is again logarithmic. In certain flows these singularities prove to be removable locally, yielding a breakaway separation or reattachment and including the first known successes of a classical strategy in describing large-scale separation. Other flows, by contrast, require an interactive strategy. Again, even on a fixed surface a breakdown different from Goldstein's can be produced if there is a moving section of surface further upstream. The application...