This paper presents three distinct approximate methods for solving Blasius Equation. The first method can be regarded as an improvement to a series solution of Blasius by means of Padè approximation. The second method is a famous type of weighted residual technique which is called Galerkin method after the famous Russian engineer and mathematician Boris Galerkin. The last method is a simple discrete, numerical technique. Additionally, in order to show the power of the last method, the Thomas-Fermi problem is solved using the same technique. Results obtained by all three methods are highly accurate in comparison with the Howarth's solution and Bender's solution.
Many problems based on natural sciences need to be solved by the scientists and engineers to serve the humanity. One of the well-known model in atomic universe is condensed into an equation, and called the Thomas-Fermi equation. It is a second order differential equation, which describes charge distributions of heavy, neutral atoms. No exact analytical solution has been found for the equation yet. In fact, strong nonlinearity, singular character and unbounded interval of the problem causes great difficulty to obtain an approximate numerical solution as well. In this paper, the Thomas-Fermi equation is solved using a second order finite difference method along with application of quasi-linearization method. Semi-infinite interval of the problem is converted into [0, 1) using two different coordinate transformations, namely algebraic and exponential mapping. Numerical order of accuracy has been checked using systematic mesh refinements and comparing the calculated initial slope y'(0). Calculated results for initial slope is found in good agreement with the results available in the literature. Lastly, accuracy is improved by the application of the Richardson extrapolation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.