Flow past an accelerated horizontal plate in a rotating fluid

A semi-infinite mass of an incompressible viscous fluid bounded by an infin ite flat plate is initially rotating with uniform angular velocity Omega ab out an axis normal to the plate. An analysis is presented for the subsequen t Row when the plate started impulsively from rest relative to the rotating fluid moves with uniform acceleration in its own plane. Tt is found that w hen Omega not equal 0, the velocity profiles for varying times are nonsimil ar in contrast to the velocity profiles which are similar in the absence of rotation (Omega = 0). At a given instant, the velocity component along the direction of motion of the plate decreases with an increase in rotation bu t the transverse velocity component (induced by the Coriolis force) increas es with increasing rotation. Due to the gradual thinning of the boundary la yer with rotation, both the skin-friction components along and transverse t o the direction of motion of the plate increase with increasing rotation. A study of the asymptotic behavior of the velocity field for large time reve als a novel feature of the flow; it develops inertial oscillations with fre quency 2 Omega, which grow with time. This behavior has not been reported i n the absence of rotation.