Investigation of the Onset of Turbulence in Boundary Layers and the Implications for Solutions of the Navier-Stokes Equations.

Abstract

This paper investigates the onset of turbulence in incompressible viscous fluid flow over a flat plate by looking at the pressure gradients implied by the Blasius solution for laminar fluid flow and adjusting the predicted flow, leading to a mathematically predictable flow separation in the boundary layer and the onset of turbulence (including both transition and fully turbulent regions - both with and without the presence of a flat plate). It then considers the implications for potential analytic solutions to the Navier-Stokes Equations of the fact that it is possible to predict turbulence and a singularity for many flows (at any velocity).