Boundary layer sensitivity and receptivity

The relation between the receptivity and the sensitivity of the incompressible flow in the boundary layer over a flat plate to harmonic perturbations is determined. Receptivity describes the birth of a disturbance, whereas sensitivity is a concept of larger breath, describing the modification incurred by the state of a system as a response to parametric variations. The governing equations ruling the system's state are the non-local stability equations. Receptivity and sensitivity functions can be obtained from the solution of the adjoint system of equations. An application to the case of Tollmien–Schlichting waves spatially developing in a flat plate boundary layer is studied. To cite this article: C. Airiau et al., C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 259–265.