XXXII. On the steady flow past a sphere at high reynolds number using Oseen's approximation

Abstract

The flow of a viscous fluid past a sphere at high Reynolds number as given by Oseen's approximation, in which the inertia terms of the equations of motion are linearized, is discussed. It is found that a boundary layer is formed on the forward side and a wake extending to infinity on the rearward side. Inside the wake, which is bounded by a circular cylinder with its generators parallel to the undisturbed direction of the streamlines, the fluid at infinity is moving towards the sphere, while outside it is moving away with the undisturbed velocity, and there is a shear layer at the cylinder.