Adverse pressure gradient

An adverse pressure gradient occurs when the static pressure increases in the direction of the flow. Mathematically this is expressed as: for a flow in the positive -direction. This is important for boundary layers, increasing the fluid pressure is akin to increasing the potential energy of the fluid, leading to a reduced kinetic energy and a deceleration of the fluid. Since the fluid in the inner part of the boundary layer is relatively slower, it is more greatly affected by the increasing pressure gradient. For a large enough pressure increase, this fluid may slow to zero velocity or even become reversed. When flow reversal occurs, the flow is said to be separated from the surface. This has very significant consequences in aerodynamics since flow separation significantly modifies the pressure distribution along the surface and hence the lift and drag characteristics.