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boundary layer

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boundary layer

In fluid mechanics, a thin layer of flowing gas or liquid in contact with a surface (e.g., of an airplane wing or the inside of a pipe). The fluid in the boundary layer is subjected to shear forces. A range of velocities is established across the boundary layer, from zero (provided the fluid is in contact with the surface) to maximum. Flow in boundary layers is more easily described mathematically than is flow in the free stream. Boundary layers are thinner at the leading edge of an aircraft wing and thicker toward the trailing edge; such boundary layers generally have laminar flow in the leading (upstream) portion and turbulent flow in the trailing (downstream) portion. See also drag.



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It is suspected that these species would form a weak boundary layer that could lead to failure.
Uniquely, these soundings sampled the troposphere during a period (1700-2100 UTC) of weak vertical wind shear, peak boundary layer mixing, and thermodynamic instability prior to the release of deep convection.
Such turbulence is a major source of friction in the boundary layer.
 
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