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Nomenclature

Acronyms

Acronym Meaning
BL Boundary layer
LST Linear stability theory
ODE Ordinary differential equation
VnV Validation and verification

Latin Symbols

Symbol Description Units
\(c_f\) Skin-friction coefficient --
\(c_p\) Specific heat at constant pressure J kg^-1 K^-1
\(h_w\) Wall enthalpy or wall heat-transfer quantity (context-dependent) J kg^-1
\(M\) Mach number, \(M = U/a\) --
\(N\) Amplification factor in \(e^N\) transition methods --
\(p\) Static pressure Pa
\(Pr\) Prandtl number --
\(q_w\) Wall heat flux W m^-2
\(R\) Specific gas constant J kg^-1 K^-1
\(Re_x\) Reynolds number based on streamwise location \(x\) --
\(Re_\theta\) Reynolds number based on momentum thickness \(\theta\) --
\(R_n\) Nose radius m
\(St\) Stanton number --
\(T\) Static temperature K
\(U\) Flow velocity magnitude m s^-1
\(u\) Streamwise velocity component m s^-1
\(x\) Streamwise coordinate m
\(y\) Wall-normal coordinate m

Greek Symbols

Symbol Description Units
\(\alpha\) Streamwise wavenumber or complex growth parameter (stability context) m^-1
\(\beta\) Spanwise wavenumber (stability context) m^-1
\(\gamma\) Ratio of specific heats --
\(\delta\) Boundary-layer thickness m
\(\Delta\) Shock stand-off distance m
\(\eta\) Similarity variable or transformed wall-normal coordinate --
\(\mu\) Dynamic viscosity Pa s
\(\omega\) Angular frequency (stability context) rad s^-1
\(\rho\) Density kg m^-3
\(\theta\) Momentum thickness m

Subscripts and Superscripts

Symbol Meaning
\((\cdot)_\infty\) Free-stream value
\((\cdot)_e\) Boundary-layer edge value
\((\cdot)_w\) Wall value
\((\cdot)_x\) Quantity based on streamwise location \(x\)
\((\cdot)_\theta\) Quantity based on momentum thickness \(\theta\)
\((\cdot)_n\) Quantity based on nose reference quantity

Notes

  • Local method pages remain authoritative when a symbol is overloaded by a specific reference.
  • This table is intentionally shared across modules and should be expanded as new theory pages are added.