452 Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics and Transport Phenomena
¦
j
jj
tUPXtX
[8.69]
Expression [8.69] is quite analogous to a series development of eigenfunctions.
Like these, the vectors
X
j
are
universal
, as they do not depend on any particular
inputs of the problem. The coefficients
P
j
are parameters characterizing, in a simple
manner, the solution represented at each instant as a basis composed of state vectors
Xj
which are often chosen in order to best represent the solution
for a class of given
inputs
. Their non-dimensional expressions are often called
form parameters
, as they
characterize the relative value distribution of the state vector components (see
example in section 8.5.2). We have adopted the terminology
parametric model
in
reference to the idea of form parameters often used in fluid mechanics.
The output vector
XDY
.
can be written in an analogous form [8.69] with the
universal vectors
D X
j
and the parameters
P
j:
¦
j
jj
tUPXDtXDtY
[8.70]
We can note that the solution of the system obtained by solving equations [8.14]
and [8.15] of the state representation using the variation of constants method is not
in general of the form [8.69] or [8.70].
Solutions of parametric type can also be obtained in an approximate manner by
means of global methods. Some examples of parametric solutions of linear systems
will be covered in the following section. Such exact or approximate solutions are
also used in fluid mechanics for the study of the boundary layer (Blasius and
Howarth series, Görtler series, Karman-Polhausen global method, etc. ([SCH 99],
[YIH 77])).
The value of the parametric methods is quite significant:
–
with the objective of understanding and interpreting physical phenomena:
the
values of the parameters
P
j
allow in effect the classing of excitation situations by the
function
U
(
t
) by characterizing these situations using simple analytical forms of the
solution. We will see examples of the application;
–
for writing models of complex systems:
expression [8.70] is an
external explicit
representation
of a system in which the inputs and outputs are variables which
characterize the interactions between neighboring systems; limited to a small
number of terms, it constitutes an approximate representation which is particularly
useful for modeling of interacting systems.