Ys. Kachanov et A. Michalke, 3-DIMENSIONAL INSTABILITY OF FLAT-PLATE BOUNDARY-LAYERS - THEORY AND EXPERIMENT, European journal of mechanics. B, Fluids, 13(4), 1994, pp. 401-422
The 3D instability of the flat-plate boundary layer has been investiga
ted. Experimental results obtained in the Blasius flow excited by a po
int source were analyzed by means of a spatial Fourier decomposition.
The data are compared with theoretical solutions of the Orr-Sommerfeld
equation based on a parallel-flow approximation of the Blasius flow.
Very good agreement was found for the dispersion characteristics of th
e wavenumbers and phase velocities as function of the wave angle, of t
he frequency parameter and of the Reynolds number. The growth rates sh
owed mainly a qualitative agreement.