Several examples of incipient blow-off phenomena described by the compressible similar laminar boundary-layer equations are considered. An asymptotic technique based on the limit of small wall shear, and the use of a novel form of Prandtl's transposition theorem, leads to a complete analytical description of the blow-off behaviour. Of particular interest are the results for overall boundarylayer thickness, which imply that, for a given large Reynolds number, classical theory fails for a sufficiently small wall shear. A derivation of a new distinguished limit of the Navier–Stokes equations, the use of which will lead to uniformly valid solutions to blow-off type problems for Re → ∞, is included. A solution for uniform flow past a flat plate with classical similarity type injection, based on the new limit, is presented. It is shown that interaction of the injectant layers and the external flow results in a favourable pressure gradient, which precludes the classical blow-off catastrophy.

An experimental investigation was conducted to describe the fluid flow about oscillating flat plates and to determine the magnitude and nature of forces acting on the plates at low Reynolds numbers. In the experiment, the Reynolds number was varied from 1·01 to 1057·0; three period parameters, 1·57, 2·07 and 4·71, were applied; two fluids, water and SAE 30 motor oil, and three flat plates of various sizes with or without end plates were used. The analysis of data resulted in graphical presentation of the relationships among the drag coefficient, the Reynolds number and period parameter. The drag coefficient becomes less dependent on the Reynolds number for values greater than 250. The relationship between the drag coefficient and period parameter is pronounced throughout the entire range of the Reynolds number tested.

The behaviour of a strong shock wave, which is initiated by a point explosion and driven continuously outward by an inner contact surface (or a piston), is studied as a problem of multiple time scales for an infinite shock strength, $\dot{y}_{sh}/a_{\infty}\rightarrow \infty $, and a high shock-compression ratio, ρs/ρ∞ ∼ 2γ/(γ − 1) ≡ ε−1 [Gt ] 1. The asymptotic analyses are carried out for cases with planar and cylindrical symmetry in which the piston velocity is a step function of time. The solution shows that the transition from an explosion-controlled régime to that of a reattached shock layer is characterized by an oscillation with slowly-varying frequency and amplitude. In the interval of a scaled time 1 [Lt ] t [Lt ] ε−2/3(1+ν), the oscillation frequency is shown to be (1 + ν) (2π)−1t−½(1−ν) and the amplitude varies as t−¼(3+ν) matching the earlier results of Cheng et al. (1961). The approach to the large-time limit, ε1/(1+ν)t → ∞ is found to involve an oscillation with a much reduced frequency, ¼π(1+ν)ε−½t−1, and with an amplitude decaying more rapidly like ε−⅘t−½(4+3ν); this terminal behaviour agrees with the fundamental mode of a shock/acoustic-wave interaction.

Experimental results concerning the supercritical behaviour of instabilities occurring in the thermal convective flow between inclined plates are presented. For inclination δ between 90° and 10° (δ = 0° is the vertical orientation), with the bottom plate hotter, it is known that the primary instabilities are longitudinal convective rolls with axes oriented up the slope. These rolls are found to become wavy at a supercritical Rayleigh number Ra(δ, Pr), with an upslope wavelength which seems to be related directly to the wavelength of the original rolls. Measurements indicate that these transitions take place at Reynolds numbers which are probably too small for the process to be attributed to a shear instability. It is thought that the cross-slope derivative of the buoyancy force, which exists because of the tilted geometry, is important in generating the required vorticity. The transition is crucial to the development of violent unsteadiness. The breaking of the waves leads to turbulence at much lower Rayleigh numbers than those required in convection between horizontal plates. The transition to wavy vortices appears to be very similar to that which occurs for Taylor vortices in cylindrical Couette flow.

Space-time correlation measurements in the roughly isotropic turbulence behind a regular grid spanning a uniform airstream give the simplest Eulerian time correlation if we choose for the upstream probe signal a time delay which just ‘cancels’ the mean flow displacement. The correlation coefficient of turbulent velocities passed through matched narrow-band niters shows a strong dependence on nominal filter frequency (∼ wave-number at these small turbulence levels). With plausible scaling of the time separations, a scaling dependent on both wave-number and time, it is possible to effect a good collapse of the correlation functions corresponding to wave-numbers from 0·5 cm−1, the location of the peak in the three-dimensional spectrum, to 10 cm−1, about half the Kolmogorov wave-number. The spectrally local time-scaling factor is a ‘parallel’ combination of the times characterizing (i) gross strain distortion by larger eddies, (ii) wrinkling distortion by smaller eddies, (iii) convection by larger eddies and (iv) gross rotation by larger eddies.

Using a hot wire in a turbulent boundary layer in air, an experimental study has been made of the frequent periods of activity (to be called ‘bursts’) noticed in a turbulent signal that has been passed through a narrow band-pass filter. Although definitive identification of bursts presents difficulties, it is found that a reasonable characteristic value for the mean interval between such bursts is consistent, at the same Reynolds number, with the mean burst periods measured by Kline et al. (1967), using hydrogen-bubble techniques in water. However, data over the wider Reynolds number range covered here show that, even in the wall or inner layer, the mean burst period scales with outer rather than inner variables; and that the intervals are distributed according to the log normal law. It is suggested that these ‘bursts’ are to be identified with the ‘spottiness’ of Landau & Kolmogorov, and the high-frequency intermittency observed by Batchelor & Townsend. It is also concluded that the dynamics of the energy balance in a turbulent boundary layer can be understood only on the basis of a coupling between the inner and outer layers.

The drag coefficient for a family of axially symmetric ellipses of fineness ratio 4, 5 and 8 was measured using magnetically suspended models. The Reynolds number ranged up to 106. Thus, only the blockage interference is present, which may be partially allowed for by classical wind tunnel procedures. It is expected that the drag values presented here are accurate to 1%.

The stability of the flow induced by an impulsively started inner cylinder in a Couette flow apparatus is investigated by using a linear stability analysis. Two approaches are taken; one is the treatment as an initial-value problem in which the time evolution of the initially distributed small random perturbations of given wavelength is monitored by numerically integrating the unsteady perturbation equations. The other is the quasi-steady approach, in which the stability of the instantaneous velocity profile of the basic flow is analyzed. With the quasi-steady approach, two stability criteria are investigated; one is the standard zero perturbation growth rate definition of stability, and the other is the momentary stability criterion in which the evolution of the basic flow velocity field is partially taken into account. In the initial-value problem approach, the predicted critical wavelengths agree remarkably well with those found experimentally. The kinetic energy of the perturbations decreases initially, reaches a minimum, then grows exponentially. By comparing with the experimental results, it may be concluded that when the perturbation kinetic energy has grown a thousand-fold, the secondary flow pattern is clearly visible. The time of intrinsic instability (the time at which perturbations first tend to grow) is about ¼ of the time required for a thousandfold increase, when the instability disks are clearly observable. With the quasi-steady approach, the critical times for marginal stability are comparable to those found using the initial-value problem approach. The predicted critical wavelengths, however, are about 1½ to 2 times larger than those observed. Both of these points are in agreement with the findings of Mahler, Schechter & Wissler (1968) treating the stability of a fluid layer with time-dependent density gradients. The zero growth rate and the momentary stability criteria give approximately the same results.

The method of multiple scales is used to determine the temporal and spatial variation of the amplitudes and phases of capillary-gravity waves in a deep liquid at or near the third-harmonic resonant wave-number. This case corresponds to a wavelength of 2·99 cm in deep water. The temporal variation shows that the motion is always bounded, and the general motion is an aperiodic travelling wave. The analysis shows that pure amplitude-modulated waves are not possible in this case contrary to the second-harmonic resonant case. Moreover, pure phase-modulated waves are periodic even near resonance because the non-linearity adjusts the phases to yield perfect resonance. These periodic waves are found to be unstable, in the sense that any disturbance would change them into aperiodic waves.

The zones of influence and dependence for three-dimensional boundary-layer equations first studied by Raetz are re-examined from the viewpoint of the subcharacteristics. It is shown that in contrast, the zones of influence and dependence for a totally hyperbolic system are determined by the characteristics; for the present parabolic system of three-dimensional boundary-layer equations, the zones are determined by the characteristics and subcharacteristics. The same idea should be applicable to more general systems of equations of similar type.

Stability curves are computed for both spatially and temporally growing disturbances in a stratified mixing layer between two uniform streams. The low Froude number limit, in which the effects of buoyancy predominate, and the high Froude number limit, in which the effects of density variation are manifested by the inertial terms of the vorticity equation, are considered as limiting cases. For the buoyant case, although the spatial growth rates can be predicted reasonably well by suitable use of the results for temporal growth, spatially growing disturbances appear to have high group velocities near the lower cutoff wave-number. For the inertial case, it is demonstrated that density variations can be destabilizing. More precisely, when the stream with the higher velocity has the lower density, both the wave-number range of unstable disturbances and the maximum spatial growth rate are increased relative to the case of homogeneous flow. Finally, it is shown how the growth rate of the most unstable wave in the inertial case diminishes as buoyancy becomes important.