Boundary-layer separation from a rigid body surface is one of the fundamental problems of classical and modern fluid dynamics. The major successes achieved since the late 1960s in the development of the theory of separated flows at high Reynolds numbers are in many ways associated with the use of asymptotic methods. The most fruitful of these has proved to be the method of matched asymptotic expansions, which has been widely used in mechanics and mathematical physics. There have been many papers devoted to different problems in the asymptotic theory of separated flows and we can confidently speak of the appearance of a very productive direction in the development of theoretical hydrodynamics. This book will present this theory in a systematic account. The book will serve as a useful introduction to the theory, and will draw attention to the possibilities that application of the asymptotic approach provides.
The most fruitful of the asymptotic methods used for problems of boundary-layer separation from a rigid body surface has been the method of matched asymptotic expansions. This book will present the asymptotic theory of separated flows in a systematic account.
