Shear flow instabilities and transition

After developing the traditional, normal-mode approach to the growth of shear flow instability and transition, an outline is given of recent improvements in techniques for the solution of the Orr-Sommerfeld equations. Attention is also given to the Rayleigh and Reynolds stress equations, and experiments concerning free shear layer and boundary layer transition are reviewed and compared with theoretical predictions. It is found that while no single theory is capable of describing the entire transition process, a degree of success has been achieved in modeling isolated segments of the process. The methods presented are important in such applications as the use of vortex generators to induce transition on the upper surface of the wings of 707-class aircraft.