Slow viscous flow of a stratified fluid past a finite flat plate

Abstract

The problem considered is that of the slow flow of a viscous linearly stratified fluid past a finite flat plate alined with the mainstream. Inertia forces are neglected, and a solution is obtained of the resulting linear equation representing a balance between viscous and buoyancy forces when the ratio of the Reynolds number to the square of the Froude number is large. Expansions for the skin friction valid in the neighbourhoods of the leading and trailing edges are presented, together with a discussion of the decay of the velocity in the upstream wake to its mainstream value. For the velocity defect on the axis of this wake good agree­ment with experiment is found.