Stability of a three-dimensional boundary layer

The stability of a three-dimensional boundary layer on a semi-infinite rotating cylinder at angle of attack in a uniform incompressible flow is studied. The results shed some new light on the behavior of disturbances indicating that inflection-point instability may not dominate. Numerical solution of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation is used to obtain the results and an approximate analytic solution is shown to be in good agreement with the numerical results.