boundary layer
Wall-adjacent flow region
The boundary layer is the thin region of fluid immediately adjacent to a solid surface, where friction slows the flow.
In aerodynamics, the boundary layer along an aircraft wing determines drag and whether airflow remains smooth or becomes turbulent.
The concept extends to heat transfer and other phenomena where conditions change rapidly near a surface.
- dragResistance through fluid
- air resistanceForce opposing atmospheric movement
- laminar flowSmooth, parallel fluid motion
- turbulenceChaotic flow patterns
- vortexRotating fluid column
wind tunnel · heat transfer · aerodynamics · airfoil · trailing edge · fluid dynamics · viscosity · pressure gradient · lift · shock wave · transition zone · fluid mechanics · shear · streamline · thermal · wake · flow · gradient