The problem of predicting the behavior of the incompressible turbulent boundary layer in an adverse pressure gradient is re-examined. An outline of the problem is given along with a brief summary of the work that has already been done, including both experimental investigation are presented for a separating turbulent boundary layer with various pressure distributions. An approximate theory is developed in which the momentum integral equation is satisfied for each half of the boundary layer. The velocity profiles used in the analysis consist of the well known wall and wake regions, resulting in a two-parameter family with the Reynolds number as one parameter. It is assumed, with some experimental justification, that the eddy viscosity can be reasonably approximated from zero pressure gradient experimets. The numerical calculations, using the Runge-Kutta procedure, show good agreement with the experiments. The reliability that can be expected of such approximate methods is discussed. (Author).

This volume contains a selection of the papers presented at the Eighth Symposium on Turbulent Shear Flows held at the Technical University of Munich, 9-11 September 1991. The first of these biennial international symposia was held at the Pennsylvania State Uni versity, USA, in 1977; subsequent symposia have been held at Imperial College, London, England; the University of California, Davis, USA; the University of Karlsruhe, Ger many; Cornell University, Ithaca, USA; the Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France; and Stanford University, California, USA. The purpose of this series of symposia is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of new developments in the field of turbulence, especially as related to shear flows of importance in engineering and geo physics. From the 330 extended abstracts submitted for this symposium, 145 papers were presented orally and 60 as posters. Out of these, we have selected twenty-four papers for inclusion in this volume, each of which has been revised and extended in accordance with the editors' recommendations. The following four theme areas were selected after consideration of the quality of the contributions, the importance of the area, and the selection made in earlier volumes: - wall flows, - separated flows, - compressibility effects, - buoyancy, rotation, and curvature effects. As in the past, each section corresponding to the above areas begins with an introduction by an authority in the field that places the individual contributions in context with one another and with related research.