Statistical theory of turbulence V-Effect of turbulence on boundary layer theoretical discussion of relationship between scale of turbulence and critical resistance of spheres

Abstract The breakdown of the laminar boundary layer at the surface of a solid body owing to turbulence in the fluid through which the body is moving has not yet been subjected to any theoretical analysis. The boundary layer equations seem to be incapable, at any rate in the form in which they have hitherto been used, of giving a definite value of Reynolds number at which the laminar boundary layer may be expected to become turbulent. When the solid surface is simply a flat plate placed edgewise in the wind the Reynolds number corresponding with the position where the change from laminar to turbulent boundary layer takes place depends on the amount of turbulence present. The boundary layer takes place depends on the amount of turbulence present. The boundary layer equations give a perfectly regular solution (the Blasius rehime) which indicates that in the absence of any external disturbance the regime will continue for an infinite distance down the plate.