Paul Richard Heinrich Blasius

Paul Richard Heinrich Blasius (9 August 1883 – 24 April 1970) was a German fluid dynamics physicist. He was one of the first students of Prandtl.

Paul Richard Heinrich Blasius
Born	9 August 1883 Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia, Imperial Germany
Died	24 April 1970(1970-04-24) (aged 86) Hamburg, West Germany
Nationality	German
Citizenship	German
Alma mater	University of Göttingen
Known for	Blasius boundary layer Blasius theorem
Scientific career
Fields	Fluid mechanics and mechanical engineering
Thesis	Boundary layers in liquids with low friction  (1907)
Doctoral advisor	Ludwig Prandtl

Blasius provided a mathematical basis for boundary-layer drag but also showed as early as 1911 that the resistance to flow through smooth pipes could be expressed in terms of the Reynolds number for both laminar and turbulent flow. After six years in science he changed to Ingenieurschule Hamburg (today: University of Applied Sciences Hamburg) and became a Professor. On 1 April 1962 Heinrich Blasius celebrated his 50th anniversary in teaching. He was active in his field until he died on 24 April 1970.

One of his most notable contributions involves a description of the steady two-dimensional boundary-layer that forms on a semi-infinite plate that is held parallel to a constant unidirectional flow ${\displaystyle U}$.

Correlations

First law of Blasius for turbulent Fanning friction factor:

${\displaystyle f/2=0.039Re^{-0.25}\,}$

Second law of Blasius for turbulent Fanning friction factor:

${\displaystyle f/2=0.023Re^{-0.22}\,}$

Law of Blasius for friction coefficient in turbulent pipe flow:

${\displaystyle \lambda =0.3164Re^{-0.25}\,}$

See also

• Blasius function