Buoyancy effects in stably stratified horizontal boundary-layer flow

Abstract

This paper describes numerical and asymptotic solutions of the steady two-dimensional boundary-layer equations governing buoyant flow on a horizontal, thermally insulated surface. The class of flows considered is one for which there is a uniform external stream at constant temperature but for which conditions upstream lead to a statically stable temperature field within the boundary layer. This has the effect of generating an adverse pressure gradient which, if sufficiently strong, causes the boundary-layer solution to terminate in a singularity. Results are obtained for a range of Prandtl numbers.