Study of the incompressible turbulent boundary layer with pressure gradient

The classical problem of the turbulent boundary layer in incompressible flow with streamwise pressure gradient is considered with a view toward establishing a method that is convenient foi practical application and that is based on recent advances in undei standing the structure of turbulent layers Indeed, a two-layer model of the boundary layer is assumed with the flow in the inner layer given by the law of the wall and in the outer layer by a flow with wakelike characteristics The general analysis is first developed and then applied to equilibrium and near-equilibrium flows The predictions of the analysis are compared to available data for several such flows coi responding to adverse, zero, and favorable pressure gradients and are shown to be in satisfactory agreement therewith Several numerical experiments generating additional equilibrium flows are performed The implication of these results with respect to the applica tion of this study to nonequilibrium flows is discussed