Incompressible Laminar Boundary Layers on a Parabola at Angle of Attack: A Study of the Separation Point

Abstract : The laminar boundary-layer equations were solved for incompressible flow past a parabola at angle of attack. Such flow experiences a region of adverse pressure gradient and thus can be employed to study the boundary-layer separation process. The present solutions were obtained numerically using both implicit and Crank Nicholson type difference schemes. It was found that in all cases the point of vanishing shear stress (the separation point) displayed a Goldstein type singularity. Based on this evidence, it is concluded that a singularity is always present at separation independent of the mildness of the pressure gradient at that point. (Author)