Boundary Layer for the Navier-Stokes-alpha Model of Fluid Turbulence

We study boundary-layer turbulence using the Navier-Stokes-alpha model obtaining an extension of the Prandtl equations for the averaged flow in a turbulent boundary layer. In the case of a zero pressure gradient flow along a flat plate, we derive a nonlinear fifth-order ordinary differential equation, which is an extension of the Blasius equation. We study it analytically and prove the existence of a two-parameter family of solutions satisfying physical boundary conditions. Matching these parameters with the skin-friction coefficient and the Reynolds number based on momentum thickness, we get an agreement of the solutions with experimental data in the laminar and transitional boundary layers, as well as in the turbulent boundary layer for moderately large Reynolds numbers.