Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2006
An asymptotic solution of the boundary-layer equations, valid just upstream of a free streamline attached to the sharp trailing edge of a body, is compared with a numerical solution for the boundary-layer flow on a finite flat plate set perpendicular to a uniform stream. An arbitrary multiplicative constant in the asymptotic expansion, arising from an eigenfunction, is evaluated by requiring the skin friction to agree with a numerical value close to the free streamline. Using this value, the velocity profiles, computed from the asymptotic expansion, are in excellent agreement with the numerical solution.