A numerical experiment on two-dimensional turbulent separation

The simplest practical type of flow involving separation is that past a smooth flat plate with uniform velocity U0 at inlet followed by a linear adverse velocity gradient dU/dx = Constant (Fig. 1). At first the boundary layer is laminar up to the transition point xL. The turbulent boundary layer then grows with uniform potential flow velocity U0 outside the boundary layer up to the point x1 From x1 downwards the boundary layer grows in the presence of an adverse pressure gradient and finally separates at the point xs.