Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 July 2009
We discuss the self-similar solutions of the second kind associated with the propagation of turbulent bursts in a fluid at rest. Such solutions involve an eigenvalue parameter μ, which cannot be determined from dimensional analysis. Existence and uniqueness are established and the dependence of μ on a physical parameter λ in the problem is studied: estimates are obtained and the asymptotic behaviour as λ → ∞ is established.