Viscous-inviscid interaction on a slender axisymmetric trailing tip flow

Using the method of matched asymptotic expansions, the viscous-inviscid interaction near the trailing tip region of a slender body of revolution of finite length placed in a uniform incompressible laminar stream is investigated in the limit of large Reynolds numbers. Similar to previous studies, the interaction region is found to exhibit a three-layer structure. In contrast to these investigations, host-ever, the fundamental interaction equations are of axisymmetric rather than planar form. Numerical solutions indicate that axisymmetric tip flows are much less prone to separation than two-dimensional flows. Most interestingly, it is found that increasing the body thickness, keeping the body shape fixed, does not necessarily lead to boundary layer separation.