Boundary Vorticity Dynamics Since Lighthill's 1963 Article: Review and Development

In his well-known 1963 article: “Introduction. Boundary Layer Theory,” Lighthill explained for the first time how to describe quantitatively the vorticity creation rate from a solid surface and how this creation rate is dominated by the tangent pressure gradient. This was the first cornerstone of boundary vorticity dynamics, which has now been developed to a complete theory on the vorticity creation from solid or fluid boundaries and the reaction of the created vorticity to the boundaries. In this paper we present a general formulation of boundary vorticity dynamics, briefly review the theoretical progress for Newtonian fluid since 1963, examine the effect of variable viscosity and turbulence on the vorticity creation, and, of many applications, exemplify the use of the theory in aerodynamic diagnosis and optimization. Received 14 November 1996 and accepted 14 March 1997