Boundary Layer Theory

Boundary Layer Theory is the analytical and approximate framework for understanding viscous flow near solid surfaces, pioneered by Ludwig Prandtl in 1904. The central insight is that at high Reynolds numbers, viscous effects are confined to a thin layer near walls (the boundary layer), while the flow outside remains essentially inviscid. This separation enables powerful approximations: the boundary layer equations reduce the full Navier-Stokes to a parabolic system solvable via streamwise marching, yielding analytical or semi-analytical solutions for many practical cases. Boundary layer theory remains fundamental to aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and heat transfer.