BOUNDARY VORTICITY DYNAMICS SINCE LIGHTHILLS 1963 ARTICLE - REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT

In his well-known 1963 article: ''Introduction. Boundary Layer Theory. '' Lighthill explained for the first time how to describe quantitative ly the vorticity creation rate from a solid surface and how this creat ion rate is dominated by the tangent pressure gradient. This was the f irst cornerstone of boundary vorticity dynamics, which has now been de veloped to a complete theory on the vorticity creation from solid or f luid boundaries and the reaction of the created vorticity to the bound aries. In this paper we present a general formulation of boundary vort icity dynamics, briefly review the theoretical progress for Newtonian fluid since 1963, examine the effect of variable viscosity and turbule nce on the vorticity creation, and, of many applications, exemplify th e use of the theory in aerodynamic diagnosis and optimization.