Three-dimensional laminar boundary layers in crosswise pressure gradients

Two attempts were made to develop a three-dimensional laminar boundary layer in the flow over a flat plate in a curved duct, establishing a negligible streamwise pressure gradient and, at the same time, an appreciable crosswise pressure gradient. A first series of measurements was undertaken keeping the free-stream velocity at about 30 ft/s; the boundary layer was expected to be laminar, but appears to have been transitional. As was to be expected, the cross-flow in the boundary layer decreased gradually as the flow became progressively more turbulent. In a second experiment, at a lower free-stream velocity of approximately 10 ft/s, the boundary layer was laminar. Its streamwise profile resembled closely the Blasius form, but the cross-flow near the edge of the boundary layer appears to have exceeded that predicted theoretically. However, there was a substantial experimental scatter in the measurements of the yaw angle, which in laminar boundary layers is difficult to obtain accurately.