GFD 2007

Boundary Layers

Theideaoftheboundarylayerdatesbackatleasttothetimeof
Prandtl(1904,seethearticle:LudwigPrandtlsboundarylayer,
PhysicsToday,2005,58,no.12,4248).

Contemporaneously, Ekman

V.W.Ekman

Considered the effects of rotation although he did

not really think of his solutions in terms of what we
would call boundary layer theory.

Young Ekman

Theprincipalconceptoftheboundaryoriginallyspringsfromthe
particularformofthefluidcontinuumequationsinwhichthe
dissipationtermsinvolvehigherorderderivativesthanthe
inertial,advectiveterms,e.g.fortheNavierStokesequationsfor
anonrotatingfluid:
ui
ui
p
2 ui
u j
Fi
t
x j
xi
x j x j

Forfluidslikeairorwaterthecoefficientof
viscosityisoftensufficientlysmall,inanon
dimensionalsensetobeclarifiedmoreformally
below,suchthatthephysicaleffectsoffriction
wouldseemtobenegligibleallowingtheneglectof
thelasttermontherighthandsideoftheequation.

This is a singular perturbation.

The order of the equations is reduced and we can no longer satisfy
all the boundary conditions if the viscous term is neglected.
Themathematicalissueishowtoretainthehigherorderderivatives
onlywheretheyareneededtohelpsatisfytheboundaryconditions
and
thephysicalissueistounderstandthroughtheapplicationsof
boundarylayertheoryhow(andwhether)theactionoffrictionin
verylocalizedregionsmayaffectthefluidflowinregionsoutside
thedomaindirectlyaffectedbyfriction.Theinterplaybetweenthe
outerregion,inwhichfrictionisnotdirectlyimportant,andthe
innerregioninwhichfrictiondirectlyactsisakeyfeatureof
boundarylayertheory(aformofsingularperturbationtheory).

An Oceanic example
Wind-driven ocean circulation model
J( , 2 ) x r 2 4 T (x, y)
J(a,b) ax by aybx

AH
r*
,r

L3
L

U / L2

If r and v neglected and the no slip condition is dropped, there will still
be a singular perturbation to the equations if the term, i.e. the
nonlinear advection terms are ignored. This leads to an inertial
boundary layer.This equation in its entirety will be discussed more fully
later.

An outline of where we will be going

1) Linear boundary layer theory

Ekman layers, Boundary layers in density stratified fluids,
control of interior, experimental applications.
2) Coastal bottom boundary layer.
Boundary layer on shelf for upwelling and downwelling.
Observations (Lentz)
3) Boundary layers in the General Oceanic Circulation.
Sverdrup theory, Stommel, Munk, inertial boundary layers,
inertial runaway,thermocline and its boundary layer
structure.

Equations of motion

1
uux vuy wuz 2v px u xx u yy uzz

1
uvx vvy wvz 2u py vxx vyy vzz

1
uwx vwy wwz pz g wxx wyy wzz

u x v y wz 0

Incompressible fluid in a
rotating system.

If the density is not

constant must add an
ernery equation

We are interested in cases where is small. Must introduce

scales.

The Ekman Layer

U
x

E
u zz u yy
2
p E
vvy wvz u
vzz vyy
y
2
p E
vwy wwz
wzz wyy
z
2

vu y wu z v

v y wz 0

Far from the boundary the velocity is U(y).

Motion is independent of x (for simplicity)

The pressure has been

scaled with 2LU0
Lengths with L and
velocity with U0

Uo
,theRossbynumber
2L

, theEkmannumber<<1
L2

The solution far from the boundary

u I U(y),
y

pI U(y ')dy ',

vI 0,

This is an exact solution of

the equations of motion but
does not satisfy the no slip
condition on z =0.

wI 0.

We introduce the stretched,

boundary layer variable.

zE
1/2

Corresponding to using
as a vertical scale,

1/ 2

In the new variable

2
1/ 2
1
E
, 2 E
z

z
2

1
u E u yy
2
p 1
vvy Wv u
v E vyy
y 2
p
E
W E Wyy
E vWy WW

vu y Wu v

vy W 0

Initially consider small

w E 1/2W (y, )

Linear Ekman layer problem

1
v u
2
p 1
u
v
y 2
p
0

vy W 0

thus

The pressure is uniform

in the boundary layer
and so is equal to its
p pI (y),
freestream value
p pI

U(y)
y y
1
v u
2
1
u U v
2

vy W 0

The solution (1)

let
2
2i
2

(u U) iv
o exp( 1 i )

or

u U e A cos Bsin
v

e Asin B cos

Theconditionsthat
A U(y), B 0
bothuandvvanishon
z==0,yields
u U (y) 1 e cos
v U (y)e sin

The solution (2)

Note the overshoot

v
cross isobar flow perpendicular to U(y)

The Ekman spiral

The cross isobar flow (in y direction) and Ekman pumping

e
0 vdz e 0 vd 2 U(y)

Cross isobar flow

Pressure force

and

1 U
1 e cos sin
W
2 y

wI (y,0) E1/2W (y, ) E1/2U y / 2

Spin Down (1)

thisverticalvelocityissmallbutitcanhaveasubstantialeffectontheinterior
flowandis,inmanycasestheprimarymechanismforthedestructionofotherwise
inviscidmotionintheinterior.Forexample,apositiverelativevorticitywillgive
risetoapositiveverticalvelocityoutoftheboundarylayer.Iftheinterioris
boundedfromabovethiswillusuallyimplythatacolumnoffluidintheinterioris
squashedandtheresultwillbetodecreasetherelativevorticitybytheinertial
effectsofvortexsquashing.TheratewilldependontheEkmannumberbutthe
1 E 1/ 2
resultingspindowntimewillbeoftheorderofandsowillbelong
comparedwitharotationperiodofthesystembutshortcomparedtoa
characteristicdiffusiontime.

E 1

Spin down (2)

For small

d z
w

dt
z

d z
1/2
1/2
1/2 z
Ev w(z 0) Ev (U y / 2) Ev
dt
2
2
Ts 1/ 2
E
T*s

Non dimensional decay time

L Uo
L
L

U o L / 1/2 1/ 2

In dimensional (non
dimensionless) units

Nonlinear modifications of the Ekman Layer

Wecanexpectthatnonlinearitywillforceadditionaltermsinthe
solutionbutitwillalsobethecasethatitwillchangethestructureof
theO(1)solution.Sincetheboundarylayer,inlineartheorydepends
ontheratiooftheviscositytotherotation,itisoftenassumed,
heuristically,thatthefirsteffectofnonlinearityistochangethe
thicknesstosomethinglike,

2 / ( f z )

1/2

wheref=2(theCoriolisparameterandtheplanetaryvorticityand
whereistherelativevorticity.

z vx u y
Hence,theexpectationisthatpositiverelativevorticityinthe
interiorflowwillmaketheboundarylayerthinner.However,
positivevorticityproducesaverticalvelocitythatwilltendto
thickenthelayer

A new stretched variable

E 1/ 2

And consider all variables to be

functions of both and Z

E 1/2
E 1/2
z

To order
1
vu y Wu v u 2 u Z E u yy
2
p 1
vvy Wv u
v 2 v Z E vyy
y 2
p E
E vWy WW
W 2W Z E Wyy
2
vy W WZ 0

The expansion

u uo u1 ...
uo U A(y, Z)e cos B(y, Z )e sin ,
vo A(y, Z)e sin B(y, Z)e cos

A(0) U,B(0) 0
Wo C(Z)

1 A
B
e sin cos e cos sin
2 y
y

C(0)

1 U
2 y

The solution for W0

theverticalvelocitymustbeindependentofzatleasttoorderandE.This
impliesthatCisindependentofZ

1 U 1 A
B
Wo

e sin cos e cos sin

2 y 2 y
y

The next order problem

1 2i1 Ru iRv,
1 u1 iv1 ,
Ru 2 vouoy Wouo 2uo Z ,
Rv 2 vo voy Wo vo 2vo Z

EvaluatingthetermsinRuandRv
revealsthatacombinationof
someofthetermswillhavethe
formofthehomogeneous
operatoronthelefthandsideof
theeqn.Ifleftunalteredthose
termswouldintroducespatial
secularterms,i.e.solutionsofthe
form e(1i)
andwouldrenderourexpansion
invalidfor=Z=O(1).To
preventthat,thetermsinRuand
Rvinvolvingthederivativesofthe
coefficientswithZareusedto
eliminateallsecularterms.

Removing secular terms

(1 i )
Eliminating terms of the form e

leaves us with a differential eqn. in Z for A and B

A iB A iB
Z

64 7 48
U Iy
C

0
{

2i(1 i)
w term

vorticity term

C U Iy

and so

A iB U I e
UI e

U Iy Z /4

U Iy Z /4 iU Iy Z /4

cos(U Z / 4) isin(U Z / 4)
Iy

Iy

The weakly nonlinear solution

A(Z ) Ue

U y Z / 4

B(Z ) Ue

vo Ue

cosU y Z / 4,

U y Z / 4

sinU y Z / 4

1 U y / 4

uo U 1 e

or

sin( 1 U y / 4 )

1 U y / 4

cos 1 U y / 4

The exponential decay decreases when the relative vorticity is

positive, i.e. when Uy < 0. The effect of the vertical velocity in
thickening the boundary layer dominates the vorticity effect in
determining the boundary layer thickness.

The vertical velocity

At lowest order

1
( U Z /4)
Wo U y 1 e y sin( U y Z / 4) cos( U y Z / 4)
2
To complete the solution we need to find the next
order corrections to u and v, i.e. to solve
1 2i1 Ru iRv,
1 u1 iv1 ,
Ru 2 vouoy Wouo 2uo Z ,
Rv 2 vo voy Wo vo 2vo Z

after the secular terms have

been removed.

The non secular problem

(no particular religious meaning implied)
Runon sec e2 AAy BBy ABy BAy iU y e (1i) (A iB),
Rvnon sec e2 AAy BBy ABy BAy

let

1 u1 iv1

1 2i1 e2( Z ) (1 i)UU y iUU y e (1i)e Z(1i)

Uy / 4

(1 3i) 2( Z ) (1i)

e
e
1 / 4 e (1i) Z (1i) e (1i)
10

1 UU y

The cross isobar flux to order

1
7

E (vo v1 )d E U UU y
2
20

0
1/2

1/2

nonlinear

linear

The divergence of this flow yields the vertical

velocity at the edge of the boundary layer

wI (y,0) E1/2 U y U y 2 UU yy
40

The form of the cross isobar flow to order to order

Thepanelontheleftshowsthecrossisobar(v)flowforthelinearsolution(R 0=0,solidline)andthe
solutioncorrectedfornonlineareffects(R0=0.5,dashedlineandclearlypushingthevalidityofthe
expansion).Thepanelontheleftisfornegative,uniformshear(positiverelativevorticity)andthe
panelontherightisforpositiveshear(negativevorticity).

references
BentonG.S.,F.B.LippsandS.Y.Tuann.1964.The
structureoftheEkmanlayerforgeostrophicflowswith
lateralshear.Tellus16,186199
Hart,J.E.2000Anoteonthenonlinearcorrectionto
theEkmanlayerpumpingvelocity.Phys.ofFluids.12,
131135
Brink,K.H.1997Timedependentmotionsandthe
nonlinearbottomEkmanlayer,J.MarineRes.55,613
631

Nansens problem
f/2

wind stress
sea surface z=0

Scale for velocity

Uo

2 o
, f 2
f e

u ,v 0
2v u
2u v
vy W 0

ocean

z0

(non dimensional)
linear problem

Ekmans solution

e cos( / 4)

e sin( / 4)

u / 2,v / 2
as

goes to zero
stress
Surface velocity

The profiles of velocity and the Ekman flux

Ue

ud

0,

Ve

vd

/ 2

total flux is to the

right of the stress. In
dimensional units:

TheEkmanvelocitiesu(solid)andv(dashed)
forastressinthexdirection

.
In general:

2 o
*
Ve U o e gVe
e
f
r f e 2
*

r
k *
U*e
f

The Ekman hodograph spiral

The vertical velocity

1
1 e cos
2 y

W ()

1
2 y

withdimensionsrestoredandin
vectorform,

we

For a wind stress of one

dyne/cm2 the vertical velocity is
order of 10-4 cm/sec ~ 10
cm/day and is responsible for
driving the major part of the
ocean circulation.

U e
(r / f )
W kg
*
L

Nonlinear similar to previous example. However one simple

result follows almost immediately.

Role of nonlinearity on Ekman transport (and pumping)

Consider stress in x direction but now include a very strong

geostrophic current in the x direction whose scale is much greater
than the Ekman depth. Again, with solutions independent of x
1
vu y Wu v u E u yy
2
p 1
vvy Wv u
v E vyy
y 2
p E
E vWy WW
W EWyy
2
vy W Z 0

The linearized equations

u g (y) ue f
e
y
1
u
2
1
u u g v
2

vu gy v

Vertically integrating and using

u ,v 0
Ve

2 1 u gy

Ue 0

Ekman transport (dimensional)

r
k /
U*e
f g
Relative vorticity

This holds only when the

stress and geostrophic
current are collinear

Refs.
M.E.Stern1965Interactionofauniformwindstresswitha
geostrophicvortex.DeepSeaRes.12,355367
P.P.Niiler1969OntheEkmandivergenceinanoceanicjet.J.
Geophys.Res.74,70487052

General nonlinear formulation

Again, expand in a series in and introduce the slow variable
Z =
0 A(Z )e (1i ) , 0 uo ivo
uo ug (y) e Ar cos Ai sin ,
vo e Ai sin Ar cos

y e
Ai Ar cos Ai Ar sin
W0
2 2 y

Ar (0) 2 Ai (0) 2

Order problem
1

1 i e (1i) (Ar Ai ) i(Ar Ai )

2
Z
(1i)

e (1i)

ugy
y

(A

A
)

i(A

A
)

iA

r
i
r
i
2 r i
2i

ugy

A iA e

2i
r

(1 i)
Ai (Ary Aiy ) Ar (Ary Aiy )
2

Removing the secular terms leads to

Ar

Z y /2 ugy / 4
e
cos(Zu gy / 4 / 4)
21/2

Ai

Z y /2 ugy / 4
e
sin(Zugy / 4 / 4)
21/2

Possible resonant
terms

The structure of the O(1) solution

uo ug

y ugy
1
2 4

e
1/2
2

vo

y ugy
1
2 4

e
21/2

ugy / 2

sin (1 ugy / 4) / 4

1/2

same result if we linearize

in transition region around
ug(y) and W= -y/2

cos (1 ugy / 4) / 4 ,

Boundary layer thickness

1/ 2

2 *y*

u*gy*
f

f
2

dimensional

Boundary layer flux to O(

Solution for non secular forcing yields

3
v1d ugy
8

And using the O(1) solutions

dependence on

y ugy
(vo v1 )d
2

8 2
0

W () vo v1 d

Thomas,L.N.andP.B.Rhines,2002.Nonlinear
stratifiedspinup.J.FluidMech.,473,211244

W ()

2 y 1 ugy y / 4