On the Use of Recursive Evaluation of Derivatives and Padé Approximation to Solve the Blasius Problem

Abstract

The Blasius problem is one of the well-known problems in fluid mechanics in the study of boundary layers. It is described by a third-order ordinary differential equation derived from the Navier-Stokes equation by a similarity transformation. Crocco and Wang independently transformed this third-order problem further into a second-order differential equation. Classical series solutions and their Padé approximants have been computed. These solutions however require extensive algebraic manipulations and significant computational effort. In this paper, we present a computational approach using algorithmic differentiation to obtain these series solutions. Our work produces results superior to those reported previously. Additionally, using increased precision in our calculations, we have been able to extend the usefulness of the method beyond limits where previous methods have failed.