Thermal boundary-layer theory near the stagnation point in three-dimensional fluctuating flow

Abstract

The equations of motion and energy governing a three-dimensional fluctuating flow of an incompressible fluid in the vicinity of a stagnation point on a regular surface have been integrated analytically. The velocity of the oncoming flow relative to the body oscillates in magnitude but not in direction.It has also been shown that the analysis of Lighthill for the two-dimensional fluctuating flow may be extended to the three-dimensional flow (both chordwise and spanwise), namely for each point on the body there is a critical frequency ω0 such that for frequencies ω > ω0 the oscillations are to a close approximation ordinary ‘shear waves’, unaffected by the mean flow; the phase advance in the skin friction is then 45°. For frequencies ω < ω0 the oscillations may be closely approximated by the sum of two parts: one quasi-steady part and the other proportional to the acceleration of the oncoming stream. The phase advance in the skin friction is then tan−1 (ω/ω0).