Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics

11

Boundary Layer Flow

11.1 INTRODUCTION

By the end of the nineteenth century the science of fluid dynamics had developed along two different, and rather independent, lines. One of those lines was the applied science of hydraulics, developed by engineers for the practical purpose of designing ships, dams and irrigation works. It was concerned with the measurement of forces on bodies immersed in flowing water, and the resistance offered to the water flowing through pipes and channels. Hydraulics was a largely empirical science and had no firm mathematical basis, but it provided answers to many questions of practical importance.

The other line was the theoretical science of hydrodynamics, developed by mathematicians with the aim of mathematically ...