Stability of a disperse-mixture flow in a boundary layer

The hydrodynamic stability of a dilute disperse mixture flow in a quasi-equilibrium region of a boundary layer with a significantly nonuniform particle concentration profile is investigated. The mixture is described by a two-fluid model with an incompressible viscous carrier phase. In addition to the Stokes drag, the Saffman lifting force is taken into account in the interphase momentum exchange. On the basis of a numerical solution of the boundary-value problem for a modified Orr-Sommerfeld equation, neutral stability curves are analyzed and the dependence of the critical Reynolds number on the governing parameters is studied. It is shown that taking into account the particle concentration nonuniformity in the main flow and the Saffman lifting force significantly changes the stability limits of the two-phase laminar boundary layer flow. The effect of these factors on the boundary layer stability is considered for the first time.