To improve the performance of complex viscous engineering flows, the
focus should be on local dynamics (local processes and structures)
measured by the space-time derivatives of the primary-variable
fields, rather than these fields themselves. In the context of
optimal flow management such as optimal configuration design and
flow control, the local fluid dynamics on solid wall is of most
direct relevance. For large Reynolds-number flows, we show that the
on-wall local dynamics is highlighted by the balance between
tangential pressure gradient and vorticity creation rate at the wall
(boundary vorticity flux, BVF), namely the on-wall coupling of the
compressing and shearing processes. This basic concept is
demonstrated by previously unpublished and newly obtained numerical
examples for external and internal flows, including the role of BVF
as a faithful marker of the local appearance of boundary-layer
separation and wall curvature discontinuity, and the use of
BVF-based formulas to optimize the integrated performance of airfoil
and compressor rotor blade.