Unit Operation

CHE 412
Boundary Layer
Fluid flow is often confined by solid surfaces, and it is important to understand how the presence
of solid surfaces affects fluid flow. Consider the flow of a fluid in a stationary pipe or over a
solid surface that is nonporous (i.e., impermeable to the fluid). All experimental observations
indicate that a fluid in motion comes to a complete stop at the surface and assumes a zero
velocity relative to the surface. That is, a fluid in direct contact with a solid “sticks” to the
surface due to viscous
effects, and there is no slip. This is known as the no-slip condition. The layer that sticks to the
surface slows the adjacent fluid layer because of viscous forces between the fluid layers, which
slows the next layer, and so on. Therefore, the no-slip condition is responsible for the
development of the velocity profile. The flow region adjacent to the wall in which the viscous
effects (and thus the velocity gradients) are significant is called the boundary layer. The fluid
property responsible for the no-slip condition and the development of the boundary layer is
viscosity. A fluid layer adjacent to a moving surface has the same velocity as the surface. A
consequence of the no-slip condition is that all velocity profiles must have zero values with
respect to the surface at the points of contact between a fluid and a solid surface. Another
consequence of the no-slip condition is the surface drag, which is the force a fluid exerts on a
surface in the flow direction. An implication of the no-slip condition is that heat transfer from the
solid surface to the fluid layer adjacent to the surface is by pure conduction, since the fluid layer
is motionless
VELOCITY BOUNDARY LAYER
Consider the parallel flow of a fluid over a flat plate, as shown in Fig. 6–14. Surfaces that are
slightly contoured such as turbine blades can also be approximated as flat plates with reasonable
accuracy. The x-coordinate is measured along the plate surface from the leading edge of the plate
in the direction of the flow, and y is measured from the surface in the normal direction. The fluid
approaches the plate in the x-direction with a uniform velocity V, which is practically identical to
the free-stream velocity over the plate away from the surface (this would not be the case for
cross flow over blunt bodies such as a cylinder). For the sake of discussion, we can consider the
fluid to consist of adjacent layers piled on top of each other. The velocity of the particles in the
first fluid
layer adjacent to the plate becomes zero because of the no-slip condition. This motionless layer
slows down the particles of the neighboring fluid layer as a result of friction between the
particles of these two adjoining fluid layers at different velocities. This fluid layer then slows
down the molecules of the next layer, and so on. Thus, the presence of the plate is felt up to some
normal distance d from the plate beyond which the free-stream velocity remains essentially
unchanged. As a result, the x-component of the fluid velocity, u, varies from 0 at y = 0 to nearly
V at = δ (Fig. 6–15). The region of the flow above the plate bounded by δ in which the effects of
the viscous shearing forces caused by fluid viscosity are felt is called the velocity boundary
layer. The boundary layer thickness, δ , is typically defined as the distance y from the surface at
which u = 0.99V. The hypothetical line of u = 0.99V divides the flow over a plate into two
regions: the boundary layer region, in which the viscous effects and the velocity changes are
significant, and the irrotational flow region, in which the frictional effects are negligible and
the velocity remains essentially constant.
Viscous versus Inviscid Regions of Flow
When two fluid layers move relative to each other, a friction force develops between them and
the slower layer tries to slow down the faster layer. This internal resistance to flow is quantified
by the fluid property viscosity, which is a measure of internal stickiness of the fluid. Viscosity is
caused by cohesive forces between the molecules in liquids and by molecular collisions in gases.
There is no fluid with zero viscosity, and thus all fluid flows involve viscous effects to some
degree. Flows in which the frictional effects are significant are called viscous flows. However, in
many flows of practical interest, there are regions (typically regions not close to solid surfaces)
where viscous forces are negligibly small compared to inertial or pressure forces. Neglecting the
viscous terms in such inviscid flow regions greatly simplifies the analysis without much loss in
accuracy. The development of viscous and inviscid regions of flow as a result of inserting a flat
plate parallel into a fluid stream of uniform velocity is shown in Fig. 6–9. The fluid sticks to the
plate on both sides because of the no-slip condition, and the thin boundary layer in which the
viscous effects are significant near the plate surface is the viscous flow region. The region of
flow on both sides away from the plate and unaffected by the presence of the plate isthe inviscid
flow region.
Wall Shear Stress
Consider the flow of a fluid over the surface of a plate. The fluid layer in contact with the surface
tries to drag the plate along via friction, exerting a friction force on it. Likewise, a faster fluid
layer tries to drag the adjacent slower layer and exert a friction force because of the friction
between the two layers. Friction force per unit area is called shear stress. Experimental studies
indicate that the shear stress for most fluids is proportional to the velocity gradient, and the shear
stress at the
wall surface is expressed as
du
τ ω=( μ ) (N/m2)
dy y=0
where the constant of proportionality μ is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid, whose unit is
kg/m·s (or equivalently, N·s/m2, or Pa·s, or poise = 0.1 Pa·s). The fluids that obey the linear
relationship above are called Newtonian fluids, after Sir Isaac Newton who expressed it first in
1687. Most common fluids such as water, air, gasoline, and oils are Newtonian fluids. Blood and
liquid plastics are examples of non-Newtonian fluids. In this text we consider Newtonian fluids
only. In fluid flow and heat transfer studies, the ratio of dynamic viscosity to density appears
frequently. For convenience, this ratio is given the name kinematic viscosity v and is expressed
as v=μ/ ρ . Two common units of kinematic viscosity are m2 /s and stoke (1 stoke = 1 cm2 /s =
0.0001 m2 /s ). The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation, and it is a
strong function of temperature. The viscosities of liquids decrease with temperature, whereas the
viscosities of gases increase with temperature.
THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER

We have seen that a velocity boundary layer develops when a fluid flows over a surface as a
result of the fluid layer adjacent to the surface assuming the surface velocity (i.e., zero velocity
relative to the surface). Also, we defined the velocity boundary layer as the region in which the
fluid velocity varies from zero to 0.99V. Likewise, a thermal boundary layer develops when a
fluid at a specified temperature flows over a surface that is at a different temperature, as shown
in Fig. 6–17. Consider the flow of a fluid at a uniform temperature of T ∞ over an isothermal flat
plate at temperatureT S. The fluid particles in the layer adjacent to the surface reach thermal
equilibrium with the plate and assume the surface temperature T S . These fluid particles then
exchange energy with the particles in the adjoining-fluid layer, and so on. As a result, a
temperature profile develops in the flow field that ranges from T S at the surface to T ∞ sufficiently
far from the surface. The flow region over the surface in which the temperature variation in the
direction normal to the surface is significant is the thermal boundary layer. The thickness of
the thermal boundary layer δ t dt at any location along the surface is defined as the distance from
the surface at which the temperature difference T −T S equals 0.99(T ∞−T S ). Note that for the
special case ofT S=0, we have T =0.99 T ∞ at the outer edge of the thermal boundary layer, which
is analogous to u = 0.99V for the velocity boundary layer. The thickness of the thermal boundary
layer increases in the flow direction, since the effects of heat transfer are felt at greater distances
from the surface further downstream. The convection heat transfer rate anywhere along the
surface is directly related to the temperature gradient at that location. Therefore, the shape of the
temperature profile in the thermal boundary layer dictates the convection heat transfer between a
solid surface and the fluid flowing over it. In flow over a heated (or cooled) surface, both
velocity and thermal boundary layers develop simultaneously.
Noting that the fluid velocity has a strong influence on the temperature profile, the development
of the velocity boundary layer relative to the thermal boundary layer will have a strong effect on
the convection heat transfer.

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CHE 412

THERMAL BOUNDARY LAYER

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