An Alternative Reynolds Shear Stress Model and Wake Model for a Flat Plate Boundary Layer Flow

Abstract

The well-known closure problem has led to many models for the Reynolds shear stress. But many of these models are based on the Boussinesq approximation involving the mean velocity gradient and an eddy viscosity, which, however, requires to be modeled. Here, for a steady, incompressible and constant-pressure boundary layer, the Reynolds shear stress is expressed as a product of the mean velocity and the local momentum-deficit. This closure model is then incorporated in the boundary layer equation for the outer layer to predict the streamwise velocity in the wake region.