Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2026 / ii / Paper 1 / 39C / Solution

Boundary-layer theory assumes steady incompressible high-Reynolds-number flow, $\delta /x\ll 1$, weak streamwise viscous diffusion, nearly constant pressure across the layer, and outer pressure gradient $-{\rho }^{-1}{p}_x=U{U}^{\prime }$.

For $\varphi =-A{r}^k\cos (k\theta )/k$,At $\theta =\pm \pi /k$ the normal velocity vanishes; along the upper wall $U(x)=A{x}^{k-1}$. Boundary-layer scaling givesSet $m=k-1$. The Falkner-Skan equation becomesso $\alpha =k-1$, $\beta =-k/2$, $\gamma =1-k$, with
$f(0)=f^{\prime }(0)=0$ and $f^{\prime }(\infty )=1$. Finallyrequires $x\gg (\nu /A{)}^{1/k}$; thus $a=1/k$ and the tip region violates the approximation.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.