ABSTRACT
Ludwig Prandtl suggested that any object that moves while submerging in a low-viscosity fluid will be surrounded by a thin boundary layer. The boundary layer concept is a very important tool and allows for the simplification of the analysis of virtually all transport processes in two important ways. First, it limits the domain in the flow field where the viscous and other effects of the wall must be included in the conservation equations. Second, it shows that, within the boundary layer, the conservation equations can be simplified by eliminating certain terms in those equations. Boundary layer separation is an important phenomenon for blunt objects because it causes the disruption of the boundary layer, its movement into the main flow, and the formation of wake flow, or transition to turbulence. The nondimensionalization of the boundary layer equations provides valuable information about conditions necessary for similitude, and the functional dependencies.
