
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.