The stability of laminar boundary layers at separation

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Abstract
The effect of an adverse pressure gradient on the stability of a laminar boundary layer is considered in the limiting case when the skin friction at the wall vanishes, i.e. when U′(0) = 0. Such flows are not absolutely unstable as might have been expected but have a minimum critical Reynolds number of the order of 25. General results are given for the asymptotic behaviour of both the upper and lower branches of the neutral curve and a complete neutral curve is obtained for Pohlhausen's simple fourth-degree polynomial profile at separation.

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