We are concerned with geometric properties of transonic shocks as free boundaries in two-dimensional self-similar coordinates for compressible fluid flows, which are not only important for the understanding of geometric structure and stability of fluid motions in continuum mechanics but also fundamental in the mathematical theory of multidimensional conservation laws. A transonic shock for the Euler equations for self-similar potential flow separates elliptic (subsonic) and hyperbolic (supersonic) phases of the self-similar solution of the corresponding nonlinear partial differential equation in a domain under consideration, in which the location of the transonic shock is apriori unknown. We first develop a general framework under which self-similar transonic shocks, as free boundaries, are proved to be uniformly convex, and then apply this framework to prove the uniform convexity of transonic shocks in the two longstanding fundamental shock problems -- the shock reflection-diffraction by wedges and the Prandtl-Meyer reflection for supersonic flows past solid ramps. To achieve this, our approach is to exploit underlying nonlocal properties of the solution and the free boundary for the potential flow equation.
We establish the stability of 3-D axisymmetric transonic shock solutions of the steady full Euler system in divergent nozzles under small perturbations of an incoming radial supersonic flow and a constant pressure at the exit of the nozzles. To study 3-D axisymmetric transonic shock solutions of the full Euler system, we use a stream function formulation of the full Euler system for a 3-D axisymmetric flow. We resolve the singularity issue arising in stream function formulations of the full Euler system for a 3-D axisymmetric flow. We develop a new scheme to determine a shock location of a tra…
We develop a method that works in general product Riemannian manifold to decompose the three-dimensional steady full compressible Euler system, which is of elliptic-hyperbolic composite-mixed type for subsonic flows. The method is applied to show stability of spherically symmetric subsonic flows and transonic shocks in space $\mathbb{R}^3$ under multidimensional perturbations of boundary conditions.
The existence, uniqueness, and asymptotic behavior of steady transonic flows past a curved wedge, involving transonic shocks, governed by the two-dimensional full Euler equations are established. The stability of both weak and strong transonic shocks under the perturbation of both the upstream supersonic flow and the wedge boundary is proved. The problem is formulated as a one-phase free boundary problem, in which the transonic shock is treated as a free boundary. The full Euler equations are decomposed into two algebraic equations and a first-order elliptic system of two equations in Lagrangi…
Transonic shocks play a pivotal role in designation of supersonic inlets and ramjets. For the three-dimensional steady non-isentropic compressible Euler system with frictions, we had constructed a family of transonic shock solutions in rectilinear ducts with square cross-sections, and this paper is devoted to proving rigorously that almost all of these transonic shock solutions are stable, under multidimensional small perturbations of the upcoming supersonic flows and back pressures at the exits of ducts in suitable function spaces. This manifests that friction has a stabilization effect on tr…
Given constant data of density $ρ_0$, velocity $-u_0{\bf e}_r$, pressure $p_0$ and electric force $-E_0{\bf e}_r$ for supersonic flow at the entrance, and constant pressure $p_{\rm ex}$ for subsonic flow at the exit, we prove that Euler-Poisson system admits a unique transonic shock solution in a two dimensional convergent nozzle, provided that $u_0>0$, $E_0>0$, and that $E_0$ is sufficiently large depending on $(ρ_0, u_0, p_0)$ and the length of the nozzle.
We are concerned with free boundary problems arising from the analysis of multidimensional transonic shock waves for the Euler equations in compressible fluid dynamics. In this expository paper, we survey some recent developments in the analysis of multidimensional transonic shock waves and corresponding free boundary problems for the compressible Euler equations and related nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) of mixed type. The nonlinear PDEs under our analysis include the steady Euler equations for potential flow, the steady full Euler equations, the unsteady Euler equations for …
We are concerned with globally defined entropy solutions to the Euler equations for compressible fluid flows in transonic nozzles with general cross-sectional areas. Such nozzles include the de Laval nozzles and other more general nozzles whose cross-sectional area functions are allowed at the nozzle ends to be either zero (closed ends) or infinity (unbounded ends). To achieve this, in this paper, we develop a vanishing viscosity method to construct globally defined approximate solutions and then establish essential uniform estimates in weighted $L^p$ norms for the whole range of physical adia…
We prove the convergence in the transonic limit of two-dimensional traveling waves of the E-K system, up to rescaling, toward a ground state of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Equation. Similarly, in dimension one we prove the convergence in the transonic limit of solitons toward the soliton of the Korteweg de Vries equation.
This paper concerns with the existence of transonic shocks for steady Euler flows in a 3-D axisymmetric cylindrical nozzle, which are governed by the Euler equations with the slip boundary condition on the wall of the nozzle and a receiver pressure at the exit. Mathematically, it can be formulated as a free boundary problem with the shock front being the free boundary to be determined. In dealing with the free boundary problem, one of the key points is determining the position of the shock front. To this end, a free boundary problem for the linearized Euler system will be proposed, whose solut…
We establish the existence of an axisymmetric weak solution to the steady Euler system with a transonic shock, nonzero vorticity, and nonzero swirl in a three-dimensional cylinder. When prescribing the supersonic solution in the upstream region by axisymmetric functions with variable entropy and variable angular momentum density(=swirl), we construct such a solution by using a Helmholtz decomposition of the velocity field and the method of iteration. An iteration scheme is developed using a delicate decomposition of the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions on the transonic shock via Helmholtz decomposi…
In this paper we are concerned with a class of double phase energy functionals arising in the theory of transonic flows. Their main feature is that the associated Euler equation is driven by the Baouendi-Grushin operator with variable coefficient. This partial differential equation is of mixed type and possesses both elliptic and hyperbolic regions. After establishing a weighted inequality for the Baouendi-Grushin operator and a related compactness property, we establish the existence of stationary waves under arbitrary perturbations of the reaction.
We consider the stability of transonic contact discontinuity for the two-dimensional steady compressible Euler flows in a finitely long nozzle. This is the first work on the mixed-type problem of transonic flows across a contact discontinuity as a free boundary in nozzles. We start with the Euler-Lagrangian transformation to straighten the contact discontinuity in the new coordinates. However, the upper nozzle wall in the subsonic region depending on the mass flux becomes a free boundary after the transformation. Then we develop new ideas and techniques to solve the free-boundary problem in th…
This paper concerns the existence of transonic shock solutions to the 2-D steady compressible Euler system in an almost flat finite nozzle ( in the sense that it is a generic small perturbation of a flat one ), under physical boundary conditions proposed by Courant-Friedrichs in \cite{CourantFriedrichs1948}, in which the receiver pressure is prescribed at the exit of the nozzle. In the resulting free boundary problem, the location of the shock-front is one of the most desirable information one would like to determine. However, the location of the normal shock-front in a flat nozzle can be anyw…
For the three-dimensional steady non-isentropic compressible Euler system with friction, we show existence of a class of symmetric subsonic, supersonic and transonic-shock solutions in a straight duct with constant square-section. Such flows are called Fanno flow in engineering. We formulate a boundary value problem for subsonic flows, and study their stability under multidimensional small perturbations of boundary conditions. Since the subsonic Euler system is of elliptic-hyperbolic composite-mixed type, this is achieved by using the framework established in [L. Liu; G. Xu; H. Yuan: Stability…
We study supersonic flow past a convex corner which is surrounded by quiescent gas. When the pressure of the upstream supersonic flow is larger than that of the quiescent gas, there appears a strong rarefaction wave to rarefy the supersonic gas. Meanwhile, a transonic characteristic discontinuity appears to separate the supersonic flow behind the rarefaction wave from the static gas. In this paper, we employ a wave front tracking method to establish structural stability of such a flow pattern under non-smooth perturbations of the upcoming supersonic flow. It is an initial-value/free-boundary p…
We establish the existence, stability, and asymptotic behavior of transonic flows with a transonic shock past a curved wedge for the steady full Euler equations in an important physical regime, which form a nonlinear system of mixed-composite hyperbolic-elliptic type. To achieve this, we first employ the coordinate transformation of Euler-Lagrange type and then exploit one of the new equations to identify a potential function in Lagrangian coordinates. By capturing the conservation properties of the Euler system, we derive a single second-order nonlinear elliptic equation for the potential fun…
This paper concerns the existence of transonic shocks for steady exothermically reacting Euler flows in an almost flat nozzle with the small rate of the exothermic reaction. One of the key points is to quantitatively determine the position of the shock front in the nozzle. We focus on the contributions of the perturbation of the flat nozzle and the exothermic reaction in determining the position of the shock front by comparing the orders of $σ$ and $κ$, where $σ$ represents the scale of the perturbation of the flat nozzle and $κ$ the rate of the exothermic reaction. To this end, a free boundar…
For unipolar hydrodynamic model of semiconductor device represented by Euler-Poisson equations, when the doping profile is supersonic, the existence of steady transonic shock solutions and C-smooth steady transonic solutions for Euler-Poisson Equations were established in [27] and [41], respectively. In this paper we further study the nonlinear structural stability and the linear dynamic instability of these steady transonic solutions. When the C^1-smooth transonic steady-states pass through the sonic line, they produce singularities for the system, and cause some essential difficulty in the p…
In this paper we are concerned with the existence of transonic shocks for 2-D steady isothermal Euler flows in a horizontal flat nozzle under vertical gravity. In particular, we focus on the contribution of the vertical gravity in determining the position of the shock front. For steady horizontal flows, the existence of normal shocks with the position of the shock front being arbitrary in the nozzle can be easily established. This paper will try to determine the position of the shock front as the state of the flow at the entrance of the nozzle and the pressure at the exit are slightly perturbe…
In this short note we present an instability result for transonic flows with respect to perturbations of the Mach number at infinity. More specifically we show that a perturbation of a transonic solution in the context of a Cauchy problem for the 2-dimensional steady, isentropic and irrotational Euler equations, which is a solution that solves an elliptic equation in certain parts of its domain and a hyperbolic equation in other parts, can only take place in the analytic category if the elliptic part of the domain is affected.
We construct a supersonic-sonic smooth patch solution for the two dimensional steady Euler equations in gas dynamics. This patch is extracted from the Frankl problem in the study of transonic flow with local supersonic bubble over an airfoil. Based on the methodology of characteristic decompositions, we establish the global existence and regularity of solutions in a partial hodograph coordinate system in terms of angle variables. The original problem is solved by transforming the solution in the partial hodograph plane back to that in the physical plane. Moreover, the uniform regularity of the…
On the Well-Posedness of Periodic Strong Transonic Shocks in Divergent Nozzles
School of Mathematical Sciences, Fudan University（复旦大学数学科学学院）；Shanghai Key Laboratory of Contemporary Applied Mathematics（上海当代应用数学重点实验室）；Department of mathematics, Shandong Normal University（山东师范大学数学系）
In this paper, we prove the structural stability of the transonic shocks for three dimensional axisymmetric Euler system with swirl velocity under the perturbations for the incoming supersonic flow, the nozzle boundary, and the exit pressure. Compared with the known results on the stability of transonic shocks, one of the major difficulties for the axisymmetric flows with swirls is that corner singularities near the intersection point of the shock surface and nozzle boundary and the artificial singularity near the axis appear simultaneously. One of the key points in the analysis for this paper…
The hydrodynamic escape problem (HEP), which is characterized by a free boundary value problem of Euler equation with gravity and heat, is crucial for investigating the evolution of planetary atmospheres. In this paper, the global existence of transonic solutions to the HEP is established using the generalized Glimm method. The new version of Riemann and boundary-Riemann solvers, are provided as building blocks of the generalized Glimm method by inventing the contraction matrices for the homogeneous Riemann (or boundary-Riemann) solutions. The extended Glimm-Goodman wave interaction estimates …
We study the multiphasic formulation of the incompressible Euler equation introduced by Brenier: infinitely many phases evolve according to the compressible Euler equation and are coupled through a global in-compressibility constraint. We are able to prove that the entropy, when averaged over all phases, is a convex function of time, a result that was conjectured by Brenier. The novelty in our approach consists in introducing a time-discretization that allows us to import a flow interchange inequality previously used by Matthes, McCann and Savar{é} to study first order in time PDE, namely the …
This paper concerns the structural stability of smooth cylindrically symmetric transonic flows in a concentric cylinder. Both cylindrical and axi-symmetric perturbations are considered. The governing system here is of mixed elliptic-hyperbolic and changes type and the suitable formulation of boundary conditions at the boundaries is of great importance. First, we establish the existence and uniqueness of smooth cylindrical transonic spiral solutions with nonzero angular velocity and vorticity which are close to the background transonic flow with small perturbations of the Bernoulli's function a…
Stability of steady transonic shocks with constant states in 3D rectangular nozzles under small external forces
School of Mathematics and Statistics, Wuhan University（武汉大学数学与统计学院）；School of Mathematics and Statistics, Hubei Key Laboratory of Mathematics & Intelligent Computation and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Wuhan University of Technology（武汉科技大学数学与统计学院）
The paper considers the Euler system of PDE on a smooth compact Riemannian manifold of positive curvature without boundary, and the sphere ${\mathbb{S}}^2$ in particular. The paper interprets the Euler equations as a transport problem for the fluid density under dynamics governed by the gradient of the internal energy of the fluid. The paper develops the notion of transport cost in the tangent bundle, and compares its properties with the Wasserstein transportation cost on the manifold. There are applications to the discrete approximation to the Euler equations in the style of Gangbo and Wesdic…
In this paper, we study the initial-boundary value problem of compressible Euler equations with friction and heating that model the combined Fanno-Rayleigh flows through symmetric variable area nozzles, in particular, the case of contracting nozzles is considered. A new version of a generalized Glimm scheme (GGS) is presented for establishing the global existence of transonic entropy solutions. Modified Riemann and boundary Riemann solutions are applied to design this GGS which obtained by the contraction matrices acting on the homogeneous Riemann (or boundary-Riemann) solutions. The extended …
This article is concerned in establishing the existence and regularity of solution of semi-hyperbolic patch problem for two-dimensional isentropic Euler equations with van der Waals gas. This type of solution appears in the transonic flow over an airfoil and Guderley reflection and is very common in the numerical solution of Riemann problems. We use the idea of characteristic decomposition and bootstrap method to prove the existence of global smooth solution which is uniformly $C^{1, \frac{1}{2}}$ continuous up to the sonic curve. We also prove that the sonic curve is $C^{1, \frac{1}{2}}$ cont…
Supersonic-sonic patches are ubiquitous in regions of transonic flows and they boil down to a family of degenerate hyperbolic problems in regions surrounded by a streamline, a characteristic curve and a possible sonic curve. This paper establishes the global existence of solutions in a whole supersonic-sonic patch characterized by the two-dimensional full system of steady Euler equations and studies solution behaviors near sonic curves, depending on the proper choice of boundary data extracted from the airfoil problem and related contexts. New characteristic decompositions are developed for th…
