Colloquim on flow separation

Turbulent flow separation continues to be a nuisance to fluid dynamicists because it may be present in many practical machines or devices, thus reducing their performance, and because there is no adequate method to calculate such flows. In general, the maximum performance of such machines occurs at conditions close to the onset of separation. In order of increasing difficulty, designers need to know (a) whether or not a boundary layer separates for a prescribed pressure distribution, (b) how the pressure distribution is affected by boundary layer development with small regions of separated flow, and (c) how the overall performance is affected when large regions of separation are present. This Colloquium on Turbulent Flow Separation was held by Project SQUID at SMU to discuss fruitful areas for future research. A number of active researchers were invited to participate in discussions on five topics: terminology, measurements, flow modeling, unsteady effects, and control of separated flow. These topics are fundamental to future advances since a common nomenclature should be used to describe phenomena that are measured and modeled.