Compressibility Effects on the Extended Crocco Relation and the Thermal Recovery Factor in Laminar Boundary Layer Flow

Abstract

The relation between velocity and enthalpy in steady boundary layer flow is known as the Crocco relation. It describes that for an adiabatic wall the total enthalpy remains constant throughout the boundary layer, when the Prandtl number (Pr) is one, irrespective of pressure gradient and compressibility. A generalization of the Crocco relation for Pr near one is obtained from a perturbation approach. In the case of constant-property flow an analytic expression is found, representing a first-order extension of the standard Crocco relation and confirming the asymptotic validity of the square-root dependence of the recovery factor on Prandtl number. The particular subject of the present study is the effect of compressibility on the extended Crocco relation and, hence, on the thermal recovery in laminar flows. A perturbation analysis for constant Pr reveals two additional mechanisms of compressibility effects in the extended Crocco relation, which are related to the viscosity law and to the pressure gradient. Numerical solutions for (quasi-)self-similar as well as non-similar boundary layers are presented to evaluate these effects quantitatively.