The stability of Falkner-Skan flows with several inflection points

Nonunique solutions to the Falkner-Skan equation with multiple inflection points have been investigated with respect to stability properties. A temporal stability analysis based on the Orr-Sommerfeld equation has been performed. Attention is given to the effect of the number of inflection points in these solutions on the stability properties. While the standard Falkner-Skan flow does not have any inflection points in a favorable pressure gradient, the first nonunique solution branch has two such points. The presence of these two inflection points implies a dramatic reduction of the critical Reynolds number (4 orders of magnitude). Moreover, in base flows with more than two inflection points, additional neutral waves occur with the same Reynolds number but with different wave numbers. (Author)