Boundary layer interaction in three-dimensional flows

Abstract

An approach known from the theory of matched asymptotic expansions involving the isolation of subregions with different scales is used to study flows which are assumed to be described by the boundary layer equations almost everywhere near the surface except for a fairly narrow zone in which the inflowing boundary layers interact. Two characteristic types of interaction are identified. An approximate theory describing the flow in the interaction zone, which makes it possible to locate the position of the interaction zone on the surface, is proposed. The interaction flow on the end wall of a vane channel is calculated subject to certain simplifications. The results of an experimental investigation of this flow are presented and it is shown that the theoretical model proposed describes the three-dimensional corner separation which occurs in the neighborhood of the line of intersection of the end wall and the convex edge of the vane.