Breakdown of laminar regime in flat plate boundary layer seen in numerical solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations obtained with 16th-order scheme

Numerical solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations describing the onset and the development of the boundary layer instability of a subsonic flow about a finite width flat plate are described. They were obtained via exciters-free calculations with the 16th-order multioperators-based scheme optimized to resolve very small solutions scales. Some relevant details of the scheme are briefly outlined. The occurrence of the Tollmien–Schlichting waves near the leading edge, their downstream propagation and breakdowns some distance away are displayed. The role of the oblique waves seen in the solutions is emphasized. The nonlinear stage in the form of structured vortices followed by the solutions randomization are described.