High Reynolds Number Flow past a Plate Mounted at a Small Angle of Attack

A plane incompressible fluid flow past a plate mounted in a homogeneous stream at a small angle of attack ^* is investigated on the basis of an asymptotic analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations at high Reynolds numbers (Re). In the neighborhood of the leading edge the flow structure is studied in detail. It is found that separation is initiated in a small vicinity of the leading edge at and the length of the slow reverse stream zone is of the order O(1) at . The nonuniqueness of the solution is detected at and the hysteresis phenomenon is explained. It is shown that under certain conditions the solutions obtained also hold for flows past bodies of small thickness.