Problem 9.

32 [Difficulty: 3]

Given: Blasius exact solution for laminar boundary layer flow

Find: (a) Evaluate shear stress distribution
(b) Plot τ/τw versus y/δ 2
(c) Compare with results from sinusoidal velocity profile: u  2  y  y
 
U δ δ
Solution: We will apply the shear stress definition to both velocity profiles.

Governing 
τ  μ u (Shear stress in Newtonian fluid)
Equation: y

For Blasius: u  U f'( η) and η  y 

U  
The shear stress is: τ  μ  ( U f'( η) )  U μ ( f''( η) )    η   U μ f''( η) 
U
ν x y y  ν x

τ μ U f''( η)
Therefore:   f''( η)  
2 ρ U ν x Rex τ is proportional to f''(η)
ρ U
τ f''( η) f''( η) y η
From the above equation:   Since y  δ at η  5 it follows that 
τw f''( 0 ) 0.33206 δ 5

μ U d  u   μ U   2  2  y  μ U τ y
For the parabolic profile: τ       τw  2 Thus: 1
d   
δ y U δ  δ δ τw δ
 δ 

0.8

Both profiles are plotted here:

Dimensionless Height y/δ

0.6

0.4

0.2

Parabolic
Blasius
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Dimensionless Shear Stress τ/τw