Laminar boundary layer stability on membrane type deformable surfaces

Abstract

In connection with the successful experiments of Kramer [l, 2] on models sheathed by flexible coverings, attempts have been made to explain theoretically the effect of boundary deformation on the position of the point of stability loss in the boundary layer. Korotkin [3] examined the stability of a plane laminar boundary layer on an elastic surface under the assumption of a linear connection between the pressure perturbation and the normal deformation of the surface. Benjamin [4] and Landahl [5] investigated the stability of the laminar boundary layer on a membrane type surface under the assumption that the physical characteristics of the surface depend on the perturbing flow wavelength. In the following we examine stability of Blasius flow on a membrane type surface whose physical characteristics are constant along the length.